A US military surveillance drone has been shot down by Iranian forces while flying over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was quoted by the BBC as saying, that the aircraft had violated Iranian airspace and that the incident sent a “clear message to America”.
But the US military insisted the drone had been over international waters at the time, and condemned what it called an “unprovoked attack” by the IRGC.
It comes at a time of escalating tension between the US and Iran.
On Monday, the US defense department said it was deploying 1,000 extra troops to the region in response to “hostile behavior” by Iranian forces.
The US has also accused Iran of attacking two oil tankers with mines last Thursday just outside the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman. Iran rejects the allegation.
