The head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division said he would say more about the debris later.
REUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iranian state television on Friday showed what it said were retrieved sections of a U.S. military drone downed by Iran.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, said on the program that the debris was proof that the U.S. drone had been over Iranian territorial waters when it was shot down by the Guards.
He further stated that Iran had warned the US several times before shooting down the drone, but that the US didn’t respond.
Hajizadeh said the debris were picked up from Iranian territorial waters.
US President Donald Trump called Iran’s shooting down of a US military drone on Thursday a new fly in the ointment and claimed that it may have been a mistake.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the drone was unarmed and clearly over international waters, adding that it could have been shot down by someone “loose and stupid.
”He also said the US has documented that its drone was above international waters, not Iranian territory, as Tehran claims. When asked how the US will respond, he said, “You’ll find out.”
On Friday morning the New York Times reported that Trump approved strikes against Iranian radar and missile batteries in retaliation for the downing of the drone. After warplanes and ships were ready to carry out the order, Trump cancelled the strikes.
Iranian officials told Reuters on Friday that Tehran had received a message from U.S. President Donald Trump through Oman overnight, warning that a U.S. attack on Iran was imminent.
“In his message, Trump said he was against any war with Iran and wanted to talk to Tehran about various issues … he gave a short period of time to get our response but Iran’s immediate response was that it is up to Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei to decide about this issue,” one of the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The second official said: “We made it clear that the leader is against any talks, but the message will be conveyed to him to make a decision … However, we told the Omani official that any attack against Iran will have regional and international consequences.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Iranian-state-television-shows-what-it-calls-retrieved-sections-of-US-military-drone-593252.