US Navy ship ‘destroyed’ an Iranian drone

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the USS Boxer downed an Iranian drone that came within 1,000 yards of the Navy ship and ignored “multiple calls to stand down” -- marking yet another escalation in the already tense situation playing out between Washington and Tehran.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said the drone was “threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew” in the Strait of Hormuz and was “immediately destroyed.” The drone was destroyed using electronic jamming, according to a US defence official. The crew of the Boxer took defensive action after the drone came within a threatening distance of the US ship, the official said.

A US Navy official told CNN that there were several other interactions between the US warship and Iranian military forces prior to the downing of the drone. An unarmed Iranian navy Bell 212 helicopter flew close to the Boxer, coming close to the ship’s deck before a US helicopter was able to “chase” it away, the official said.

Several Iranian speed boats were in the vicinity as well and maintained a safe distance, but a larger Iranian vessel came as close as 500 yards to the Boxer, a distance that typically merits a warning from US naval vessels, they added.