Iranian UN envoy condemns 'unlawful destabilizing measures' by US

Iran’s envoy to the United Nations has called on the international community to end “unlawful destabilizing measures” by the US, declaring that while Iran does not seek war, it “reserves the right to counter any hostile act.

Iranian envoy to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi has condemned continuing US provocations that culminated Thursday morning in the downing of an American surveillance drone by the Iranian air force over Hormozgan province.

The drone “had turned off its identification equipment and [was] engaged in a clear spying operation,” Ravanchi confirmed in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, adding that the aircraft had ignored “repeated radio warnings” in order to enter Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran filed an official protest to the UN through the Swiss Embassy following the intrusion, Ravanchi said, adding that "this is not the first provocative act by the United States against Iran's territorial integrity."

US reconnaissance drones have repeatedly violated Iranian airspace, PressTV reported citing IRGC sources, though the US has claimed the downed drone was in “international airspace” over the Strait of Hormuz when it was attacked.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also promised to “take this new aggression to the UN and show that the US is lying about international waters” in a tweet on Thursday, affirming that while Tehran does not “seek war,” they “will zealously defend our skies, land and waters.”

IRGC commander Major-General Hossein Salami called Iranian frontiers “our red line,” declaring the downing of the drone to be a “transparent and firm message” in response to “acts of aggression” by “outsiders.”

The military released a video depicting its Khordad 3 air defense system shooting down the unmanned American aircraft with a missile.

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