SIGNS: IRAN DOWNS US DRONE READY FOR WAR

IRAN says it’s “ready for war” after shooting down a US ‘spy’ drone today as tensions continue to rise in the Persian Gulf.

The Islamic Republic’s state-run IRNA news agency has insisted the country’s Revolutionary Guard hit the drone when it flew over Iran in a “clear message” to Washington.

The military drone was gunned down this morning by Iran

But the US military has challenged these claims saying the drone was gunned down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz by an Iranian surface-to-air missile

Earlier, Navy Captain Bill Urban, of America’s Central Command said: “No US aircraft were operating in Iranian airspace today.”

Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said that Tehran does “not have any intention for war with any country, but we are ready for war” while insisting “our airspace is a red line.”

Speaking on Iranian state television, he said this morning’s incident sends a “clear message” to the US while issuing a threat to the country’s “enemies”.

General Salami said: “We warn enemies of any aggression at this stage and assure them that we can reach them wherever they are.”

IRNA, citing the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, identified the drone as an RQ-4 Global Hawk – an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) which can fly at high altitudes for more than 30 hours.

SPY DRONE ‘SHOT DOWN’

The drones can gather near-real-time, high-resolution imagery of large areas of land in all types of weather, its makers Northrop Grumman says.

IRNA had earlier claimed the drone entered Iranian airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province.

The reported shoot-down comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

In recent days, the US confirmed an attempt by Iran to shoot down an American drone last week as well as a successful destruction of one on June 6 by Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen

Earlier this week, the US announced plans to deploy more than 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East following bomb attacks on two oil tankers.

Photos released by the Pentagon appear to prove Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were behind the bomb attacks on the tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced the deployment for what he said were “defensive purposes” citing concerns about a threat from Iran.

TENSIONS RISE

He said the “recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behaviour by Iranian forces and their proxy groups” towards America.

The new images, many taken from a Navy helicopter, show what the Pentagon said were Iranian forces removing an unexploded mine from the side of the Kokuka Courageous tanker.

Other photos show a large hole on the side of the Japanese-owned ship, above the water line, that officials say appears to have been caused by another similar mine.

The vessel is believed to have been targeted by a magnetic mine causing a series of massive explosions.

Recent US and Iran tensions

• May 5: USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force is deployed in Middle East in response to ‘a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings’ by Iran.
• May 8: Iran vows to enrich its uranium stockpile if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for its nuclear deal. The US responds by imposing sanctions on Iran’s metals industry.
• May 10: The US says it will move a Patriot missile battery into the Middle East to counter threats from Iran.
• May 24: President Trump says the US will bolster its military presence in the Middle East with an additional 1,500 troops.
• May 12: The UAE says four commercial ships off its eastern coast “were subjected to sabotage operations,” just hours after Iranian and Lebanese media outlets air false reports of explosions at a nearby Emirati port.
• June 13: Two oil tankers are attacked in the Gulf of Oman – Washington blames Iran while Tehran denies involvement
• June 18: US sends more than 1,000 additional troops to Middle East citing Iran’s ‘hostile behaviour’
• June 20: Iran shoots down American ‘spy’ drone insisting the aircraft had flown over its airspace – a claim the US denied