WASHINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday that an American unmanned aircraft was shot down by an Iranian air defense system while operating in international airspace Wednesday.
CENTCOM confirmed that a RQ-4A Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system at approximately 2335 GMT on June 19, Spokesman Bill Urban said in a statement.
Urban stressed that the drone was downed while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false.
However, Hossein Salami, chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said on Thursday that the U.S. drone downed in the southern part of the country had crossed Iranian borders.
He added that Iran is not seeking war with any country, but it is fully prepared to confront any aggression.
The U.S. drone could provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information at high altitudes for more than 30 hours, according to the website of Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer of the Global Hawk.
This incident further inflamed the ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran over the attack on two oil tankers last week in Gulf of Oman as well as Iran's threats of not complying with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
It came days after the Pentagon accused Iran of attempting to shoot down a U.S. military drone as it was flying over one of the two crippled tankers, but without success.
Despite the fact that both the Trump administration and Iranian government have repeatedly claimed that they do not seek conflict, analysts remain worried that unintended incidents and miscalculations between Washington and Tehran might ultimately trigger a military conflict.
