The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have reportedly shot down a US drone that had invaded Iran’s airspace. The US military denied the use of aircraft in Iranian airspace, but the launch has been confirmed. The Revolutionary Guards want to send a „clear message“ to the US.
A Global Hawk drone had penetrated into the Iranian airspace on Thursday in Kuh-Mubarak in the province of Hormuzgan and shot down by the Revolutionary Guards, the Revolutionary Guards said in a morning in a press release, according to news agency Fars. On Iranian television, the Revolutionary Guard warned against any aggression against Tehran later that the launch of the drone was a corresponding sign. „Our borders are the red line (..). Iran does not want war, but we are ready for defense. “
The US military immediately denied the official use of a drone in Iranian airspace, but the firing itself was confirmed. The drone of the type MQ-4C Triton was shot down over international waters, said in the morning. In the early afternoon, the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which leads the troops in the Middle East, announced that an unmanned RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance aircraft had been shot down by an Iranian ground-to-air missile Thursday in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.
The Department of Defense in Washington also confirmed the launch. The surveillance drone of the Navy had been „in international airspace“ on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Pentagon. In a statement, the Department of Defense emphasized, „The Iranian statement that the aircraft was flying over Iran is false.“ The Hormuzgan province of southern Iran is located directly on the Persian Gulf and is for observers the eventual arena for a military confrontation between Iran and Iran the USA.
Growing tensions with the USA
After the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 Vienna nuclear agreement and the imposition of new sanctions on Iran, tensions are growing between the two countries. On Wednesday, the Iranian Security Council (SNSC) had stated that it said that there would be no war between Iran and the US. The US would exert political pressure and wage an „economic war“ against the Iranian people.
In May, Iran started a partial exit from the nuclear deal and threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz. Almost two-thirds of global oil exports are shipped across this strait. In addition, the US suspect that Iran is behind the mysterious attack on two oil tankers last week on the Gulf of Oman. Tehran rejects the allegations.
New meeting on nuclear agreements
For the end of next week, Iran has announced a meeting of the partners of the international nuclear agreement in Vienna. The vice-ministers of foreign affairs of Iran and the 4 + 1 group – China, Germany, France, Great Britain and Russia – would meet in Vienna on June 28, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. According to observers in Tehran, the meeting could be the last diplomatic opportunity to save the nuclear deal before the Iranian ultimatum expires in early July.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had affirmed that the remaining five contracting parties would only have until July 7 to implement the 2015 Vienna Atomic Energy Convention in accordance with the Treaty. Otherwise, Iran will begin the second phase of its partial exit from the deal. Rouhani is particularly concerned with the economic benefits of the agreement for Iran, which could not be realized after the US withdrawal and American sanctions.
In the second phase of the partial phase-out, Iran wants to lift the uranium enrichment restriction and enrich uranium more than the agreed 3.67 percent cap. In the opinion of observers, that would be the end of the Vienna Agreement. Europe, unlike the US, is sticking to the nuclear agreement.
