Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi maintained on Friday that Iran had not lost one of its unmanned drones, even after President Donald Trump announced that a U.S. Navy ship disabled it in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.
“We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS [Unmanned Aerial System] by mistake!” Araqchi said on Twitter, according to NBC News.
Trump announced on Thursday that the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer “took defensive action” against the Iranian drone for “threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew.” He said that the drone was “immediately destroyed” when it got within 914 meters of the ship.
“No doubt about it. No, we shot it down,” Trump said in response to Araqchi’s comments.
Trying Trump’s patience
Iran has been involved in several provocations in the area since the U.S. put heavy sanctions on them, preventing them from selling oil to other nations. In response, several oil tankers have been detained or attempted to be detained by Iran in recent weeks.
Indeed, Iran became furious in early July when Britain detained one of its oil tankers for violating sanctions. It then tried to detain a British oil tanker, but backed off when a British Navy ship approached. Two additional British vessels were seized by Iran on Friday, the Associated Press reports.
Iran also shot down an unmanned U.S. drone in June, the AP reported. Trump was ready to launch an airstrike against Iran after the U.S. drone was shot down, but pulled out at the last minute after finding out that the strike would result in 150 civilian casualties.
Trump has since called for an international coalition to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid any further provocations from Iran.
Iran pulls back?
As much as Iran appears to be aggressive toward the U.S. and other nations in the region, Trump noted that Iran is pulling back from activities in the region. Trump credits his recently imposed sanctions for the pullback.
“You look at them pulling back, and they’re not pulling back because they love us. They’re pulling back because they don’t have money,” Trump said Thursday.
The sanctions were meant to force Iran to the negotiating table after the U.S. pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between the nations that was signed by Barack Obama.
“All we want to do is have a fair deal. The deal that was made was a bad deal,” Trump said. “We can do something quickly or we can take our time. I’m in no rush.”
If the president’s pattern of victory continues, it looks like Trump will get his way sooner or later. Despite Iran’s blustering, they can’t hold out against the U.S. stranglehold forever.
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