Military officials use electronic jamming device to take down Iranian drone
Defense officials tell Fox News that claims by Iran that the drone that was taken down was from the U.S. are 'far-fetched'; Jennifer Griffin reports from the Pentagon.
Iran on Friday released what it said was video proof that the USS Boxer did not destroy its drone as President Trump has asserted.
But at the White House, Trump said there was “no doubt about it” that the Boxer had brought down the unmanned aircraft.
U.S. officials said the warship took action to defend itself Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz after multiple calls to stand down were ignored.
“No doubt about it. We shot it down,” Trump said.
IRAN DENIES CLAIM THAT US WARSHIP DESTROYED IRANIAN DRONE
Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said: "There is no question this was an Iranian drone, and the USS Boxer took it out as the president announced yesterday because it posed a threat to the ship and its crew. It's entirely the right thing to do."
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif addresses the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the U.N. this week. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed the video shows the drone filming the Boxer before returning to base without damage.
The Iran armed forces branch said in a statement that forces continue to carefully monitor all movements of foreigners — especially "the terrorist forces" of the U.S. and the U.K. in the strait and the Persian Gulf.
Iran had "not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else," Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted.
TRUMP: US WARSHIP DESTROYED IRANIAN DRONE IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
U.S. officials said the Boxer jammed the drone’s signal, causing it to crash.
This undated photo provided by Iranian state television's English-language service, Press TV, shows the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker MT Riah surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels. (Press TV via AP)
Electronic jamming breaks the data links between a drone and its controller on the ground. Such a move requires a vehicle-mounted, counter-drone device on the flight deck of the ship — a device that's visible in official photographs of the Boxer released by the Pentagon after the incident.
On June 20, Iran shot down an American drone in the same waterway, and Trump came close to retaliating but called off an airstrike at the last moment.
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