The Iranian coastline near the Strait of Hormuz
Rob Atherton | iStock | Getty Images
An Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down a U.S. military drone in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official told NBC News Thursday morning.
The drone downing was first announced by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard on its website, Sepah News, around 7:00 a.m. local time. A U.S. Central Command spokesperson later responded to the charges saying that “No U.S. drone was operating in Iranian airspace today.”
The U.S. official said a US RQ-4 Global Hawk drone was shot down in international airspace above the Strait of Hormuz. It was not in Iranian airspace. The official said they consider this to be an unprovoked attack.
Brent crude jumped on the news in early morning trading, up 2.81% at $63.56 a barrel at 7:50 a.m. London time.
This is a breaking news story, please check back later for more updates.
