DRONE STRIKE
US warship ‘may have brought down’ SECOND Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz
THE US may have downed a second Iranian drone in the flashpoint Strait of Hormuz last week, it was revealed last night.
A US Navy warship took out one aircraft on Thursday after it buzzed within 1,000 yards of the vessel.
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But it's now been claimed that a second drone was "successfully engaged" just an hour later.
Marine Corps Gen Kenneth McKenzie told CBS News on Tuesday: "As always it was a complex tactical picture.
"We believe two drones, we believe two drones were successfully - there may have been more that we are not aware of - those are the two that we engaged successfully."
He added: "We are confident we brought down one drone - we may have brought down a second."
We observed one UAS crash into the water but did not observe a 'splash' for the other
Lt Col Earl Brown
Speaking aboard the USS Boxer, the ship that targeted the drones, McKenzie said they are “confident we brought down one drone, we may have brought down a second.”
A US Central Command spokesman also confirmed that the Boxer took on two "UAS" drones - an acronym for unmanned aerial system.
It was not initially revealed that a second aircraft may have been destroyed because it was not seen crashing into the water.
Lt Col Earl Brown said: "This was a defensive action by the USS Boxer in response to aggressive interactions by two Iranian UAS platforms in international waters.
"We observed one UAS crash into the water but did not observe a 'splash' for the other."
IRAN REJECTS
Iran said it had no information about losing a drone - and even claimed the US may have brought down its own aircraft.
President Trump dismissed that suggestion by saying during a White House event on Monday that the US used “new technology that’s actually quite amazing.”
The drone was reportedly downed using high-tech electronic jamming rather than being shot out of the sky with a missile.
Trump added: "There's a lot of proof - it's called take a look at it on the ocean floor.
"Take your scuba gear and go down there."
FEVERISH TENSIONS
Tensions in the Gulf region are escalating amid fears that the United States and Iran could stumble into war.
The US has blamed Iran for a series of attacks since mid-May on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most important oil artery.
In June, Iran shot down a US military surveillance drone in the Gulf with a surface-to-air missile.
Iran says the drone was in its airspace - but Washington says it was in international skies.
President Trump came close to launching a military strike on Iran in retaliation for the downing of the US drone.
But he called off the attack at the last minute as his warplanes were in the air over fears up to 150 Iranians could be killed.
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Britain has also been dragged into the standoff after Royal Navy Marines seized an Iranian tanker suspected of trying to smuggle oil to Syria.
Last week, the British tanker Stena Impera was hijacked by the Iranian revolutionary guard in the Strait of Hormuz.
The HMS Montrose - which had fended off a suspected Iranian attempted raid on another British oil vessel days earlier - was reportedly ten minutes late to save the Impera.
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Royal Navy captain's frantic call urging Brit tanker to ignore Iran threats to change course as HMS Montrose raced to scene
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