MIDDEN-OOSTEN
Iran haalt Triton-drone van VS neer
June 20, 2019 - De VS meldt dat de surveillance-drone die door een grond-luchtraket is neergehaald, zich in internationaal luchtruim boven de Straat van Hormuz bevond
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said it shot down the drone on Thursday morning when it entered Iranian airspace near the Kuhmobarak, close to the Strait of Hormuz.
The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, citing the Guard, identified the drone as an RQ-4 Global Hawk. However, the U.S. Navy also flies a variant that looks similar called the MQ-4C Triton.
The attacks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal a year ago.
The incident happened over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all global oil moves.