In the early hours of the day, a US drone flying over the Strait of Hormuz was intercepted and hit by Syrian forces.
According to the Guardians of the Revolution, the spy drone had violated Iranian airspace and had the identification equipment deactivated: it departed from an American air base in the southern Gulf, flew over the southern province of Hormozgan violating the airspace of the Kouhmobarak district .
The news, initially denied by the US, admitted that a US drone had been shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, claiming however that it was flying in international airspace. The unmanned aircraft, according to the Pentagon, was an MQ-4C Triton, 'cousin' of the Global Hawk, capable of flying reconnaissance missions for 24 hours with a sensor that provides a 360-degree view.
General Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the Pasdaran, spoke of a "red line" being crossed. The violation of the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran "represents our red line": the killing, added the general, is "a clear, clear and precise message from the defenders of the borders of the Islamic homeland of Iran".
Even the Foreign Ministry has called the US action "aggressive and provocative", defining it as yet another sign of the growing tension between Iran and the US.
In recent weeks, Washington has decided to send more troops and has strengthened the deployment of warships and missiles in the Gulf.
The crisis has surged following attacks on tankers and oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, for which Washington accuses Tehran, which in turn denies any involvement.
According to the New York Times, the Trump administration has informed Congress that Tehran has ties to al-Qaeda: for now the thesis does not seem to have breached Capitol Hill, but according to the newspaper, both the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who Pentagon officials explained to lawmakers that ties date back to even after the 11/XNUMX attacks.
Donald Trump's response was not long in coming. Posting a message on Twitter he wrote: “Iran has made a serious mistake!”.