IRGC to Release Drone Footage of USS Boxer to Rebut US’ ‘Ridiculous’ Claim
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it will soon release the footage of the USS Boxer, captured by an Iranian drone which President Donald Trump claims was shot down by the US warship.
In a statement on Friday, the IRGC’s Public Relations Department described the US claim as “ridiculous”, and vowed to release the footage soon.
“We will soon release drone footage of the USS Boxer, the American warship that [Trump] claimed to have shot down an Iranian drone on Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz, in a bid to let the world’s public opinion know the allegation is groundless and a sheer lie,” the statement said.
“The footage will show the IRGC Aerospace’s drone was carrying out its ongoing mission in the region before the entry of the US warship into the Strait of Hormuz,” it added.
According to the statement, the footage will show the drone successfully transmitted pictures of the US warship before and even after the time when the Americans claim they shot down the UAS.
It will show the drone returned to its base safe and sound, it added.
The IRGC Navy and Aerospace forces are “smartly, constantly, and precisely” monitoring and controlling the activities of aliens, “particularly the terrorist forces of the US and Britons”, as part of the Corps’ legal missions and in a bid to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, the statement said.
The IRGC also vowed to give appropriate responses to any aggressive and unlawful move made by foreign forces in violation of the international laws.
The statement came after a spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces officially rejected the US president’s claim, saying the allegation is aimed at creating tension and disrupting security in the strategic waterway.
“Unlike Trump’s delusional and groundless claim, all drones belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, including the one mentioned by the US president, have returned to their bases safe and sound after carrying out their scheduled surveillance and control operations,” Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said.
“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran always feel duty-bound to protect, control, and safeguard the security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz with full vigilance while observing international regulations,” he added.
The comments came after President Trump claimed that the USS Boxer had fired on an Iranian drone on Thursday, shooting it down in the Strait of Hormuz. The US president claimed that Iran’s drone “was immediately destroyed.”
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