Iranian Army Claims Downed US Drone Flied With ID Hardware Turned Off - Reports

The Iranian military disclosed the details of the incident with the downed US drone in southern Iran, noting that it was flying with the identification equipment turned off, the Tasnim news agency reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) The Iranian military disclosed the details of the incident with the downed US drone in southern Iran, noting that it was flying with the identification equipment turned off, the Tasnim news agency reported.

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said earlier in the day that it had downed a US Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone in the coastal Hormozgan Province, as it had violated the country's airspace. The US Central Command has said that an Iranian missile shot down a Navy drone operating over the Strait of Hormuz in international airspace.

The IRGC claims that the drone was launched from one of US bases in the southern part of the Persian Gulf with the identification equipment turned off in order to secretly head towards the Iranian port of Chabahar, and then it began to move westward, the agency said.

The drone violated Iranian airspace in the Strait of Hormuz, where it was conducting surveillance, after which it was shot down by air defense forces, the IRGC claimed.

The United States has in recent weeks stepped up its forces in the middle East in what US National Security Adviser John Bolton has called a clear and unmistakable message to Iran.

The new US deployments in the region include an aircraft carrier strike group, Patriot missiles, B-52 bombers and F-15 fighters, according to the Pentagon.

Last week, two oil tankers, Kokuka Courageous and Front Altair, were reportedly attacked in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. While the causes of the incident remain unknown, the United States claimed that Iran had sabotaged the vessels. The US military subsequently released a video showing alleged Iranian forces removing an unexploded mine from one of the tankers. The footage, however, did not show any boat Names or flags that could help substantiate the claims.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia of coordinating a campaign to falsely blame Iran for the attacks.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump said that he hoped to avoid a war with Iran. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Iran does not intend to wage war with the United States, but will continue to resist Washington.