Lance Cpl. Dalton Swanbeck/11th Marine Expeditionary Unit(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said that the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Boxer destroys an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz that was “threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew.”
“The Boxer took defense action against the drone which had closed into a very close distance, approximately a thousand yards, ignoring multiple calls to stand down and was threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew,” Trump said on Thursday. “The drone was immediately destroyed.”
“This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters,” he continued. “The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities, and interests, and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran’s attempt to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce. I also call on other nations to protect their ships as they go through the Straight of Hormuz and to work with us in the future.”
On Thursday, the Boxer transited through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where one fifth of the world’s oil passes.
It was over this waterway where the U.S. said Iran shot down an American drone last month. The U.S. has also blamed Iran for a June attack on two commercial tankers sailing in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.
U.S. officials have been urging allies to join a maritime security initiative to protect the Strait of Hormuz, following these attacks.
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