Sen. Lindsey Graham issued a strong warning to Iran after they shot down a U.S. drone that was flying over international waters late Wednesday. Iran claims the drone was flying over their airspace.
“That would be a provocative act for the United States and Israel and all bets are off, and put in place military capability to go after their naval forces and their refineries because their refineries are the economic backbone of this murderous regime,” the South Carolina Republican told reporters on Thursday,
“And do not be intimidated by provocative acts to get to the negotiating table. If we give in here to intimidation and outrageous conduct, then North Korea would do the same and on and on and on,” he said.
“U.S. Central Command can confirm that a U.S. Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (or BAMS-D) ISR aircraft was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz at approximately 11:35 p.m. GMT on June 19, 2019,” Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM spokesman, said.
Urban said called the incident an “unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace.”
The drone that was shot down was a RQ-4A Global Hawk High-Altitude, Long, Endurance Unmanned Aircraft System. It provides real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions over ocean and coastal areas.
The incident comes shortly after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, just south of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. says evidence points to the Iranian military being behind the attacks, which Iran has strongly denied.
