US shoots down Iranian drone for flying too close to a warship amid rising tensions in the Gulf on the same day Iran detains 'foreign tanker' for allegedly smuggling fuel
On the same day after Iran detained a"foreign tanker" and its crew for allegedly smuggling fuel in the Gulf, the US shot down an Iranian fixed-wing drone for flying to close to a warship.A US Navy ship destroyed an Iranian fixed-wing drone in a “defensive action,” escalating tensions in the Gulf after the drone came within "threatening range."
In remarks at the White House, Trump blamed Iran for a "provocative and hostile" action and said the US responded in self-defence. Only four weeks ago, Iran shot down a US surveillance drone in the same area, in what the US described as an “unprovoked attack.” The MT Riah disappeared from ship tracking maps when its transponder was switched off in the Strait of Hormuz on July 14. Its last position was off the coast of the Iranian island of Qeshm in the strait.
The United States quit an international deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program last year, hitting Tehran with crippling sanctions. Iran said last week that it had enriched uranium past the 3.67 percent limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal, and has also surpassed the 3 00-kilogram cap on enriched uranium reserves.The European Union's top Foreign Policy chief says the Iran nuclear deal is "not in the best of health, but still alive".
Mogherini also admitted that the EU's efforts would probably not be enough to mitigate the impact of the US's decision to withdraw from the agreement and impose sanctions on Iran. The three key European powers expressed concern that the 2015 deal risked further unravelling but said it was up to Tehran to ensure the deal survived.
But Iran has made any talks conditional on first being able to export as much oil as it did before the US withdrew from the nuclear pact with world powers in May 2018. An Iranian statement confirmed the conversation and said Hunt underlined Iran's "right to export oil". As part of our long-standing presence in the Gulf, HMS Duncan warship is deploying to the region, Britain said.
"There has been no political request at any time from any government that Gibraltar should act or not act on one basis or another."Spain had said the tanker was intercepted by British authorities after a request from the United States.Iran called on Britain to immediately release its oil tanker which British Royal Marines seized last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told state news agency IRNA.
"I think that that will be developing over the next couple weeks," Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee. The vessel was intercepted by the British overseas territory on the southern tip of Spain July 4. A senior Spanish official said the operation was requested by the United States. Later, the UK government said in a statement that the Iranian vessels only turned away after receiving "verbal warnings" from a UK navy vessel.
Iran has said it will disregard certain limits under the JCPOA as long as the remaining parties to the deal - in particular the UK, France and Germany - don't do more to mitigate the impact of crippling US sanctions re-imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018. Russia's Ambassador to the IAEA Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted after the meeting that the US "was practically isolated on this issue".
The United States used an emergency meeting of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency's board on Wednesday to pressure Iran over breaches of the 2015 international nuclear deal, accusing it of extortion and pledging to continue sanctions while still offering to hold talks.
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