Iranian forces shot down a military drone United States, a move that could raise tension between Washington and Tehran in the Middle East.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it had shot down an "intruder American spy drone" after it entered the country's airspace on Thursday.
A US official confirmed to CNN that an unmanned aircraft had been shot down, but said the incident occurred in the international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important sea routes in the world.
The Revolutionary Guards said the downed drone was a US-made RQ-4 Global Hawk, while the American officer said it was a Triton MQ-4C. Both are unmanned surveillance aircraft developed by arms manufacturer Northrop Grumman.
The head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, said the unmanned takedown was a warning to the United States.
"The only way our enemies are safe is by respecting our sovereignty, national security and the national interests of the great Iranian nation," Salami said, according to Tasnim.
In comments that could increase tensions, Salami said Iran "does not want war with any country, but we are fully prepared for war."
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Revolutionary Guards said the drone was launched from a US base south of the Persian Gulf shortly after midnight on Thursday. He said he flew from the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar, a city in southeastern Iran.
"Upon returning to the western region of the Strait of Hormuz, the unmanned aircraft violated Iran's airspace and devoted itself to gathering information and spying," the statement said.
"At 4.05 am local time, while the drone was on Iranian territory, [it was] shot down," he added.
According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, the unmanned aircraft was shot down by the Khordad-3 mid-range air defense missile. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Abbas Mousavi said the country condemned the "aggressive and provocative action".
"We warn against any violation of Iran's airspace by foreign flying objects and declare that the violators are responsible for the consequences of their actions," Tasnim was quoted as saying.
Reuters quoted Bill Urban, a spokesman for the US Central Command, as saying that "no US aircraft was operating in Iranian airspace" on Thursday.
The government of US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would send 1,000 additional troops and more military resources to the Middle East in response to what Washington called "hostile behavior by Iranian forces that threaten the personal and interests of the United States." United in the whole region. "
US officials blame Iran for attacking oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and Trump himself accused the Persian nation of being behind the provocation: "It was they who did it," he told Fox News.
Tehran has categorically denied the accusations and President Hassan Rouhani said the country does not seek war, but "is determined to show its hope and vitality and defeat the plot of the enemy."
Iran has been previously accused of targeting American drones.
In the hours leading up to the attack on the two tankers earlier this month, the Iranians saw a US drone and fired a surface-to-air missile at him, a US official told CNN.
In 2014, Iran's armed forces revealed what it claimed was a clone of an American drone "commanded" by Tehran in 2011.
Relations between Iran and the United States have deteriorated since May 2018, when Washington opted to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated with world powers and re-impose crippling sanctions on Iran's economy.
Trump and many conservatives in the United States criticized for a long time the agreement, which allowed Iran to store limited amounts of enriched uranium and heavy water produced in that process, exporting any excess.
Doing so has become extremely difficult after the United States revoked the exemptions that allowed Iran to export those reserves in excess, forcing Iran to stop enrichment or ignore the limits, which is what it is doing now.
After a year of waiting, Rouhani announced last month that he would reduce his "commitments to the agreement," but will not withdraw completely.
Iran announced this week that it would resume nuclear enrichment activities, accelerating uranium enrichment to 3.7%, above the 3.67% stipulated by the nuclear agreement. Enrichment at this level is enough to continue to supply parts of the country's energy needs, but not enough to build a nuclear bomb.
Daniel Allman and Ivana Kottasova of CNN contributed to this report.
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