Trump says Iran's downing of U.S. military drone may have been 'mistake'
- 5 years ago
U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to downplay the dramatic escalation in tensions between Tehran and Washington.... after Iran shot down a U.S. spy drone on Thursday.
For more on this and other news from around the world, let's turn to our Hong Yoo.
So Yoo, Iran claims the drone was over their territory when it was downed. The U.S. insists that it wasn't.
Tell us more about this increasingly volatile situation.
Well Mark, shortly after the drone was shot down by Iran, President Trump had an emergency meeting with his top national security advisers.
U.S. officials say the drone was an unarmed and unmanned RQ-4A Global Hawk that Washington insists was flying in international airspace over the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.
But President Trump told reporters Thursday that he believes the downing of the drone could've been unintentional.
He said someone in Iran might've made a mistake and it was probably somebody that did something they shouldn't have done.
"I find it hard to believe it was intentional if you want to know the truth. I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it. And we will be able to report back, and you'll understand exactly what happened. But it was a very foolish move that I can tell you."
Iran keeps stressing the U.S. drone was flying over their territorial waters when it was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, but made no mention of Trump's suggestion that it was a mistake.
U.S. lawmakers were alarmed by the provocation because they fear the Trump administration could declare war on Iran.
The Trump administration announced this week the deployment of 1,000 troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions after the U.S. dropped out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and started enforcing extremely tough sanctions on Iran.
But after being briefed on the matter on Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she does not think Trump wants to go to war.
President Trump has expressed a willingness to engage in talks with Iran since May, but Tehran had rejected those overtures, saying they don't think Trump is ready to negotiate.
For more on this and other news from around the world, let's turn to our Hong Yoo.
So Yoo, Iran claims the drone was over their territory when it was downed. The U.S. insists that it wasn't.
Tell us more about this increasingly volatile situation.
Well Mark, shortly after the drone was shot down by Iran, President Trump had an emergency meeting with his top national security advisers.
U.S. officials say the drone was an unarmed and unmanned RQ-4A Global Hawk that Washington insists was flying in international airspace over the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.
But President Trump told reporters Thursday that he believes the downing of the drone could've been unintentional.
He said someone in Iran might've made a mistake and it was probably somebody that did something they shouldn't have done.
"I find it hard to believe it was intentional if you want to know the truth. I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it. And we will be able to report back, and you'll understand exactly what happened. But it was a very foolish move that I can tell you."
Iran keeps stressing the U.S. drone was flying over their territorial waters when it was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, but made no mention of Trump's suggestion that it was a mistake.
U.S. lawmakers were alarmed by the provocation because they fear the Trump administration could declare war on Iran.
The Trump administration announced this week the deployment of 1,000 troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions after the U.S. dropped out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and started enforcing extremely tough sanctions on Iran.
But after being briefed on the matter on Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she does not think Trump wants to go to war.
President Trump has expressed a willingness to engage in talks with Iran since May, but Tehran had rejected those overtures, saying they don't think Trump is ready to negotiate.