A U.S. warship destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between the two countries, President Trump announced Thursday.
“The U.S. reserves the right to defend personnel, facilities, interests,” he said.
Trump said the USS Boxer took defensive action after the drone closed to within 1,000 yards of the warship and ignored multiple calls to stand down. The president called it the latest “hostile” action by Iran.
Marines on board took down the drone using electronic jamming equipment, U.S. officials told Fox News later Thursday.
The device, known as the Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System, deployed for the first time in January aboard the USS Kearsarge, the same class of warship as the USS Boxer.
Trump also called on other countries to condemn what he described as Iran’s attempts to disrupt the freedom of navigation and global commerce in the strategic waterway in the Persian Gulf region. – READ MORE