Iran has ‘indisputable’ evidence US drone violated airspace, FM says

Iran’s deputy foreign minister claimed Thursday that his country has strong evidence that the downed US Navy surveillance drone violated Iranian airspace, adding that Tehran won’t hesitate “a moment” to tackle any aggression.

“There [is] indisputable evidence about the presence of this drone in Iran’s airspace,” Seyyed Abbas Araqchi said in a phone call with the Swiss envoy, Markus Leitner, adding that “some parts of [the drone’s] wreckage have been retrieved from Iranian territorial waters.” 

Earlier on Thursday, the Iranian military published a video which they say shows the nation’s air defenses shooting down a high-altitude US Navy surveillance UAV.

In the phone call, Araqchi also urged Washington to respect Iran’s borders, both aerial and maritime, telling Leitner “the Islamic Republic of Iran would not hesitate for a moment to decisively defend its territory against any aggression.”

A similar call was made by Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, saying it is high time the international community pressured the US into ending its “unlawful and destabilizing” actions in the Persian Gulf.

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