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U.S. may have brought down second Iranian drone last week: U.S. general

24 July 2019 02:30 (UTC +04:00)

A U.S. Navy ship may have brought down a second Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz last week, the head of U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The United States said on Thursday that a Navy ship had “destroyed” an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the aircraft threatened the vessel, but Iran said it had no information about losing a drone.

“We are confident we brought down one drone, we may have brought down a second,” General Kenneth McKenzie told CBS News in an interview.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the warship Boxer may have brought down a second drone last week, though they were still working to confirm it.

“We brought down one for sure. ... There might have been a second,” said the official.

Tensions in the Gulf region are high, with fears that the United States and Iran could stumble into war.

The United States has blamed Iran for a series of attacks since mid-May on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil artery. Tehran rejects the allegations.