Iran claims new images prove US did not destroy its drone
The US responds by maintaining it would destroy any Iranian drones that fly too closely to its ship.
Saturday 20 July 2019 09:12, UK
Iran has released a video which it says disproves President Donald Trump's claim that a US warship destroyed an Iranian drone.
The American president said USS Boxer took "defensive action" on Thursday after the drone ignored repeated warnings and came within 1,000 yards of the ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
But Iranian state TV showed video it claims was taken by the drone on Thursday of USS Boxer and another American warship.
It comes amid rising tensions in the region as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said two British-operated oil tankers had been seized by Iranian authorities. The owner of one of the vessels later said their crew had been allowed to continue their voyage.
According to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the drone recorded three hours of video of USS Boxer and five other vessels, beginning when the ships first entered the Strait of Hormuz.
Less than a month earlier, Iran downed an American drone in the same waterway and Mr Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike.
The Iranian military said all of its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with a US vessel the previous day.
Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Aragchi tweeted: "We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else."
Iran's Revolutionary Guard previously said the drone had been carrying out regular surveillance when the American vessel arrived and transmitted photos of the ship.
Its statement added that guard forces continued to carefully monitor all movements of foreigners, especially the "terrorist forces" of the US and the British in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.
In response to the statement, the US said it would destroy any Iranian drones that fly too closely to its ship.
A senior Trump administration official said they have "clear evidence" that it shot down such a drone on Thursday.
"If they fly too close to our ships, they'll continue to be shot down," the official told reporters at a briefing.
The official added that a video of the incident could be released by the Pentagon.
The strait is a vital shipping lane for oil and gas and is at the mouth of the Gulf.
However, it has become a flash-point following the US decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran and impose strict sanctions that are seriously damaging its economy.
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Earlier this week, the head of Gibraltar's government met privately with Iranian officials in a bid to defuse tensions surrounding the seizure of an Iranian supertanker near the British overseas territory.
Chief minister Fabian Picardo said on Friday that the meeting at the Foreign Office in London "was both constructive and positive".
He said he wants to "de-escalate" the situation after the interception of the Panama-flagged Grace 1 tanker off the southern tip of Spain on 4 July.
Gibraltar later said the Supreme Court has extended for 30 days the detention of the supertanker. The government said the court has set 15 August as the date for the new hearing.
British Royal Marines boarded the ship on 4 July and Gibraltar police have arrested the vessel's captain and chief officer, as well as two second mates as part of their investigation.