The Pentagon has issued a strong denial that the drone Iran shot down Wednesday night violated Iranian airspace.
“Iranian reports that this aircraft was shot down over Iran are categorically false,” said Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, in an audio statement from the region piped in to Pentagon reporters.
“The aircraft was over the Strait of Hormuz and fell into international waters at the time of the intercept,” Guastella said.
The general took no questions in the 1-minute, 35-second briefing, in which he asserted that the Iranian action was “an unprovoked attack on the U.S. surveillance asset that had not violated Iranian airspace at any time during its mission.”
“This attack is an attempt to disrupt our ability to monitor the area following recent threats to international shipping and the free flow of commerce,” he said.
The Pentagon says the RQ-4A Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft was flying at a “high altitude” about 20 miles away from the nearest point of land on the Iranian coast.
“This dangerous and escalatory attack was irresponsible and occurred in the vicinity of established air corridors between Dubai, UAE, and Muscat, Oman, possibly endangering innocent civilians,” he said.
