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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's Revolutionary Guard shoots down US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone
2019-06-20
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. drone on Thursday amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers, American and Iranian officials said, while disputing the circumstances of the incident.

The Guard said it shot down the drone over Iranian airspace, while two U.S. officials told The Associated Press that the downing happened over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz. The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

Previously, the U.S. military alleged that Iran had fired a missile at another drone last week that was responding to the attack on two oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blames Iran for the attack on the ships; Tehran denies it was involved.

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 White House separately said it was aware of reports of a missile strike on Saudi Arabia amid a campaign targeting the kingdom by Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi rebels.

Iran recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium and threatened to boost its enrichment closer to weapons-grade levels, trying to pressure Europe for new terms to the 2015 nuclear deal.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has sped an aircraft carrier to the Mideast and deployed additional troops to the tens of thousands already in the region. From Yemen, the Houthis have launched bomb-laden drones into neighboring Saudi Arabia.



Posted by:Besoeker

#39  The National self-loathing is a bit offputting... at least for me

Same here. Very widespread nowadays, certainly on the Left but also with generic Americans who have gone thru the university system.

Acquaintances who are normally loving and sensible seem to have a deep visceral hatred of America, usually based on a single specific event. Maybe it is because the severely educated lack any grasp of history.
Posted by: SteveS   2019-06-20 22:13  

#38  
Posted by: Herb McCoy   2019-06-20 22:10  

#37  Oh, you carry troll smell all day. Your IP?
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-20 22:01  

#36  
Posted by: Herb McCoy   2019-06-20 21:56  

#35  If it goes off... accuse them of using a Nuke..
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 21:40  

#34  An evil thought for the day... put a 1 megaton bomb on a deadman switch on the next drone we fly by Iran...
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 21:39  

#33  The National self-loathing is a bit offputting... at least for me
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-20 21:11  

#32  You really like me, don't you? Aww...that's so sweet!

We do! You're our pet troll. And a textbook case study in cognitive bias and monomaniacal obsession. All valuable lessons at a website where playing Intelligence Analyst, Junior Grade is a major sport.
Posted by: SteveS   2019-06-20 19:12  

#31  Aw, Herbie, we don't really hate ya;
It's just that we're scared to debate ya,
But a Herb made of straw
Or a well-trained macaw
Helps us polish our wits till our cognitive bits are sufficiently ditzy to date ya.
Posted by: Elmotle Ebbeath7848   2019-06-20 19:06  

#30  "Us bold Persian pilots ain't bitin',
Cuz drones is unmanly for fightin',
But the Great Satan's imp, it
Unlimbered a limpet
And blowed itself up -- goodnight, Triton!"
Posted by: Elmotle Ebbeath7848   2019-06-20 18:55  

#29  Hey everybody, Herb thinks false flags are not an issue!

Sorry Herb, couldn't help myself. We'll have you straightened out in no time if you'll put up with us. :-)
Posted by: gorb   2019-06-20 18:42  

#28  I also love the immediate descent into delusional behavior as you all invent words and waste no time telling me what I think.

Jesus, this is what the Left does, people. Not so different. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotSoDifferent
Posted by: Herb McCoy    2019-06-20 17:37  

#27  LOL, all you people talking about me when I'm not around. You really like me, don't you? Aww...that's so sweet!
Posted by: Herb McCoy    2019-06-20 17:34  

#26  Measured response: Turn out their lights. Shut em down
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-20 15:46  

#25  From the Times of Israel liveblog, posted two hours ago:

TV: Defense officials believe lack of US military response could embolden Iran

Senior Israeli defense officials believe Iran could be emboldened if the United States does not respond militarily to a number of recent attacks it has blamed on Tehran, according to Channel 13 news.

The network says the estimation in the Israeli defense establishment is that Iran’s recent actions in the Persian Gulf were motivated by its belief that US President Donald Trump wants to avoid a military conflict.

Separately, the Kan public broadcaster reports there is concern in Israel that Iran could order its proxies in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon or Syria, to launch an attack against the Jewish state in order to signal to the US that any military action against it could lead to a major conflagration in the region.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-06-20 15:23  

#24  Pelosi en route to the WH for Iran briefing. Says “we’ll see what he has to say.” Also briefly says she had a “good conversation” with Trudeau about passage of the UMCA
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 15:10  

#23  FM of #Iran claims to have retrieved pieces of a US unmanned aerial drone from off its territorial waters.

If true, expect some attempts at reverse engineering in the coming weeks; especially if larger components survived the impact.
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 14:35  

#22  Nobody will start a war over an unmanned drone, international waters or not. Would still be helpful to prove that the incident didn't happen in Iranian airspace.
Posted by: European Conservative   2019-06-20 14:19  

#21  After US drone shot down, White House has invited Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, including Armed Services Cmte. leaders, to briefing on Iran at 3 p.m. ET, Sen. Reed and multiple congressional sources tell @NBCNews - @frankthorp / @kasie / @AlexNBCNews
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 13:15  

#20  How does it fit the false flag narrative if Iran is the one lying about the circumstances?

(Cue the V'ger broken logic clip)
Posted by: gorb   2019-06-20 12:57  

#19  


Ali


@CoolHuh_
2m2 minutes ago
More
Replying to @ZacharyLRogers @IntelCrab
There's a readiness here ( in syria) in ADs as shynshar ( air defence command ) was told that a strike may happen on iranian sites in syria


Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:58  

#18  Breaking: Washington’s decision regarding a response to Iran’s downing of a US drone will be taken after consulting allies, a White House official tells Al Arabiya.
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:55  

#17  Members of Congress and their families to attend Congressional Picnic on the @WhiteHouse South Lawn tomorrow evening.
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:51  

#16  -@AmbJohnBolton will travel to #Israel to meet with @netanyahu on June 23, followed by trilateral and bilateral meetings to discuss regional security with Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat and Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev.
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:48  

#15  "Additionally, Ambassador Bolton will meet with the Director General of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission Zeev Snir," says @GMarquis45.
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:46  

#14  Was an honest question, not to pile on Herb. The problem as I see it is, we absolutely can not bend over for the attack by allah's moon goddess piglets. The real quest would be what.

Targeting several mullah's opulent hovels (Gaddafi) is an option. Or bunker buster someplace. Either way it is dangerous as hell not to strike in kind if not more so.

What your perspective H?
Posted by: Woodrow   2019-06-20 11:41  

#13  Within the hour Trump to speak.
House had special briefing 1/2 hour ago Senate a little earlier.
SHTF?
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:37  

#12   CENTCOM reporting on this today.
Posted by: JohnQC   2019-06-20 11:15  

#11  I would prefer that action not be on normal action spots but rather homes and properties of the supreme mullah and his acolytes, their perferred mosques and the same for the Republican Guard morons.
Posted by: 3dc   2019-06-20 11:11  

#10  Before any "violence!" on our part I think wd sgould parachute Herb into Teran to taik sense unto the mad Mullahs. They will love Herb. They kept Americans hostage for over 400 days under Carter's admin.
Posted by: Varmint Splat1454   2019-06-20 10:55  

#9  I could be wrong, but I suspect POTUS will act on this one.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-06-20 10:46  

#8  I should clarify, nothing inside the Iranian airspace referenced in this incident.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-06-20 08:55  

#7  The only difference between this and a U-2 shoot down is no pilot. The Triton and Global Hawk are the same class of ISR platform but for the pilot. Yes, there's an ongoing debate about certain aspects of the U-2's flexibility but at the end of the day we aren't building any new ones. Without knowing a lot about exactly where and how high it was flying it's all just speculation, but at altitude there's nothing inside Iranian airspace that the Triton could not have imaged from international airspace.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-06-20 08:54  

#6  I would say some revolutionary guard fast boats need to go missing in international waters.
Posted by: DarthVader   2019-06-20 08:26  

#5  Herb - "But what about the Vincennes incident?"
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-06-20 07:57  

#4  Herb's thinking of a scenario where the triton was rigged to explode by a scheming weasel whistling 'invincible eagle' just before it took off.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-06-20 07:31  

#3  Let me guess, Herb: "Of course, we have no right to be inciting by flying a drone in international airspace"
Posted by: Frank G   2019-06-20 06:33  

#2  Herb, honest question, act of war?
Posted by: Woodrow   2019-06-20 06:14  

#1  Other reporting indicates:

A U.S. official said that the U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile while the reconnaissance drone was flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-06-20 05:08  

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