Iran's IRGC releases IMAGES of ‘downed US drone’, says could have down another manned plane

The head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division says a manned U.S. spy plane was near the drone it shot down but Iran chose not to target it.

Photos of what Iran says is wreckage of a downed American drone have been released by state media. While knocking out the device, Tehran said it refrained from hitting the accompanying US military plane.
The RQ-4A Global Hawk UAV was shot down on June 20 after having entered the country’s airspace and ignoring warnings to turn around, Iran claims. Washington maintains it was shot down while patrolling over international waters in an “unprovoked attack.”

The purported wreckage of the American drone is seen displayed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2019. © Handout via REUTERS/Tasnim News Agency

Tehran insists the device breached Iranian territory and says it’s ready to present “indisputable” evidence supporting that claim. It says parts of the drone’s debris had been pulled from Iran’s territorial waters, which extends 22.2 km (13.8 miles) from the shoreline.

Earlier, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the action was meant to send a “clear message” to Washington that encroaching on its sovereign integrity was a “red line.”

Metal retrieved by Iran from the downed US drone, June 21, 2019 © AFP / Handout via IRIB

Developed by US defense giant Northrop Grumman, the maritime version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk allows operators to undergo surveillance of vast swathes of ocean and can fly at altitudes of up to 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). The drone is expensive, too, costing around $130 million per unit – almost 10 times as much as armed combat drones like the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.

The purported wreckage of the American drone is seen displayed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2019. © Handout via REUTERS/Tasnim News Agency

The head of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division says a manned U.S. spy plane was near the drone it shot down but Iran chose not to target it.

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh made the comment Friday at a news conference attended by The Associated Press in Tehran.

The Guard shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk on Thursday.

Hajizadeh said: “At the same moment, another spy aircraft called a P8 was flying close to this drone. That aircraft is manned and has around 35 crew members. Well, we could have targeted that plane, it was our right to do so, and yes it was American, but we didn’t do it. We hit the unmanned aircraft.”

The tension in the Persian region becomes more aggravated daily as US said it cancelled its purported plans to strike certain Iranian targets in retaliations of the unmanned drone down by the Iran's IRGC.

President Donald Trump said he called off planned strikes on Iran because the expected death toll of 150 people would not have been a "proportionate" response to Tehran shooting down an American unmanned drone

RT /AP/ LNP /AFP