| 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone | |
|---|---|
| Part of2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis | |
   | |
| Location | |
| Target | United StatesNorthropRQ-4A Global HawkBAMS-D surveillance drone |
| Date | June 20, 2019 04:05IRDT[1] |
| Executed by |  Islamic Republic of Iran Army |
| Outcome | Drone destroyed |
On June 20, 2019,Iran's integrated system ofAir Defense Forces shot down aUnited StatesRQ-4A Global HawkBAMS-D surveillance drone[2][3][4] with the3rd Khordadsurface-to-air missile over theStrait of Hormuz.[5][6][7] Iran and the U.S. differ on where the incident actually occurred.[5] Iranian officials said that the drone violated their airspace, while U.S. officials responded that the drone was in international airspace.[8][9][10]
The incident occurred amid rising tensions between the two countries and nearly resulted in an armed confrontation.U.S. PresidentDonald Trump initially ordered a military strike againstIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) radar and missile sites before reversing the decision. Instead, the U.S. retaliated with cyberattacks on the IRGC's missile-control systems (which Iran says werefirewalled), announced new sanctions against several Iranian nationals, and requested a closed-doorUN Security Council meeting to address the regional tensions.
The U.S. has been flying surveillance drones in support of maritime security and to spy on Iran for many years. To abide by international law, such flights must take place in international airspace. Aside from the frequent legal reconnaissance flights, Iran has protested what it alleges are violations of its sovereign airspace. It has said that two U.S. spy drones crashed in Iran, aShadow 200 (RQ-7), which it said crashed 37 miles (60 km) inside Iran inIlam Province on July 4, 2005, and aHermes drone nearKhorramabad, about 125 miles (201 km) inside Iran, on August 25, 2005.[11] A later program of secret drone flights within Iranian airspace, run by the AmericanCentral Intelligence Agency, came to light following Iran'scapture of a stealth spy drone inside Iranian territory on December 5, 2011. The program entailed frequently sending stealth drones into Iran.[12]
According to the U.S., the drone involved in the June 2019 incident was one of four Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D) RQ-4 Global Hawks built as predecessors to theMQ-4C Triton, and operated by theU.S. Navy.[13] The drone is believed to be the largest drone in the entire fleet of the U.S military.[6] An MQ-4C Triton has a price of $182 million (includingR&D costs).[14]
TheBAMS-D flies at high altitude, but is not a stealth aircraft.[13] It does not carry munitions.[13]
IranianMajor General andIRGC commanderHossein Salami said that the drone took off at 00:14 local time from a U.S. military base south of the Persian Gulf and flew towardChabahar. He alleged that, on its return journey, it violated the Iranianairspace near theStrait of Hormuz.[15] IranianForeign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif said that the drone was at25°59′43″N57°02′25″E / 25.99528°N 57.04028°E /25.99528; 57.04028 when it was targeted at 04:05 local time (23:35GMT, June 19).[16] TheseGPS coordinates put it at 8.3 nautical miles (15.3 km) off Iran's coast, within the 12 nautical miles (22 km) of its claimedterritorial waters.[17] According to Iran, the drone was struck by an Iranian-produced3rd Khordad SAM located nearGaruk,Hormozgan Province.[18][19] However, citing aPentagon official,Newsweek reported the missile as a Russian-originS-125 Neva/Pechora.[20] Iranian forces displayed sections of the drone, which the foreign minister stated had been retrieved from Iranian territorial waters.[17] According to TIME, smoke from the drone was seen as shown in a video by the U.S. military.[8]
The Iranian account of the drone's location at the time of the shoot-down was contested by the United States. The commander ofUnited States Air Forces Central Command, Air ForceLieutenant GeneralJoseph Guastella, said the "closest that the drone got to the Iranian coast was 21 miles."[17] Later, U.S. Central Command issued a map of theRQ-4A's flight path, showing the attack position as several miles outside Iran's territorial waters. They also released an infra-red image of an apparent explosion destroying theRQ-4A taken from another aircraft at25°57′27″N56°52′39″E / 25.95750°N 56.87750°E /25.95750; 56.87750, 17.3 nautical miles (32.0 km) off Iran's coast.[21][22]The New York Times, citing a senior official in theTrump administration, reported that there were some doubts inside the administration about whether the drone and aBoeingP-8 Poseidon manned aircraft had indeed avoided Iranian airspace throughout their entire flights.[23]Brig. Gen.Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander ofAerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that the U.S. was warned twice about the infringement of Iran's territorial limit and stated, "When it did not redirect its route and continued flying toward and into our territory, we had to shoot it at 4:05 a.m. Our national security is a red line."[24] Hajizadeh also talked about the manned American P-8 plane over Iran's territory, saying "With the U.S. drone in the region there was also an American P-8 plane with 35 people on board. This plane also entered our airspace and we could have shot it down, but we did not."[25]
Iranians stated that theP-8 had heeded warnings and moved further off the Iranian coast.[24] TheP-8 is a naval aircraft that the U.S. uses for surveillance that is equipped with weapons to destroy ships and submarines.[26] Hours later, the Pentagon confirmed the presence of aP-8 Poseidon aircraft close to the incident.[23]
U.S. President Donald Trump later echoed Hajizadeh's statement regarding theP-8:
There was a plane with 38 people yesterday, did you see that? I think that’s a big story. They had it in their sights and they didn’t shoot it down. I think they were very wise not to do that. And we appreciate that they didn’t do that. I think that was a very wise decision.[27]
On June 25, RussianSecurity Council SecretaryNikolai Patrushev echoed the Iranian account, stating Russian military intelligence showed that the U.S. drone was shot down in Iranian airspace.[28][29] Patrushev said that Iran "has always been and remains our ally and partner".[30]
Following the incident, President Donald Trump tweeted that Iran had made a "big mistake".[31] TheFederal Aviation Administration warned airlines of a "potential for miscalculation or misidentification" as numerous flights began to be diverted from theTehran flight information region.[32] The United States also requested a June 24 closed-doorUnited Nations Security Council meeting to address the regional tensions with Iran, according to diplomats.[33] Several hours later,The New York Times, citing "multiple senior administration officials involved in or briefed on the deliberations," reported that Trump had ordered a retaliatory military strike on several Iranian radar and missile sites, but then withdrew the order.Secretary of StateMike Pompeo,National Security AdviserJohn Bolton, andCIA DirectorGina Haspel were reportedly in favor of a military response and objected to the reversal.[17][34][35]Vice PresidentMike Pence initially supported limited military strikes but also agreed with the president's decision to halt them.[36]
Trump later confirmed that he aborted an attack, tweeting that he was in "no hurry" to attack Iran and halted his order "10 minutes before the strike" because it was only then that he learned that Iranian casualties were estimated to be 150 killed, which he said was "not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone".[23] In an interview withNBC News, he expounded on his decision-making process, saying that though thestrike package was "cocked and loaded", he had not given final approval to the operation and added that no warplanes had taken off before the reversal. He reiterated that he did not desire war with Iran and was open to unconditional talks with Iranian leadership, but affirmed that they "can't have nuclear weapons" and warned that in the event of a conflict there would be "obliteration like you've never seen before".[37]
A June 22 article inThe Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified administration officials close to internal deliberations, reported that, privately, Trump bemoaned the cost of the downed drone – around $130 million (not includingR&D) – but said that the loss would pale in comparison in the eyes of U.S. citizens to potential Iranian casualties. One source said thecollateral damage estimate of 150 killed came from the White House, not the Pentagon, which two others said guessed lower. TheWSJ report also stated that Chairman of theJoint Chiefs of StaffJoseph Dunford cautioned against a strike, significantly influencing Trump's decision.[36]
In leaked diplomatic documents, UK ambassador to WashingtonKim Darroch questioned Trump's claim that he had aborted the missile strike because it would have caused 150 casualties, saying it "doesn't stand up". "It's more likely that he was never fully on board and that he was worried about how this apparent reversal of his 2016 campaign promises would look come 2020," Darroch posited.[38]
On June 23, Bolton warned Iran to not "mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness" and that "no one has granted them a hunting license in the Middle East. Our military is rebuilt, new and ready to go."[39]
On June 27, a week after the incident,U.S. Air ForceChief of StaffDavid Goldfein confirmed that U.S. drone operations in the region were continuing unabated despite the shoot-down. The day prior, he also downplayed the regional tensions at the time, saying he did not see a "significant change" in the Iranian military's defensive posture or capabilities.[40]
On June 22, it was reported that Trump had approved cyberattacks intended to disable IRGC computer systems used to control rocket and missile launches the day of the shoot-down. The cyber strikes were in development "for weeks if not months" and handled byU.S. Cyber Command in conjunction with U.S. Central Command.[41] It represented the first offensive show of force since Cyber Command was elevated to a fullcombatant command in May 2018. Also on June 22, the U.S.Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to U.S. industries that Iran was stepping up cyberattacks on critical industries — particularly oil, gas, and other energy sectors — and government agencies, and have the potential to disrupt or destroy systems.[42]
On June 24, Trump announced new targeted sanctions in Executive Order 13876 against Iranian and Revolutionary Guard Corps leadership, includingSupreme LeaderAli Khamenei and hisoffice. IRGC targets includedNaval commanderAlireza Tangsiri, Aerospace commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh andGround commanderMohammad Pakpour. The sanctions also targeted the commanders of the IRGC Navy's five districts: Abbas Gholamshahi, Ramezan Zirahi, Yadollah Badin, Mansour Ravankar, and Ali Ozma'i.[43][44] The sanctions largely froze any assets under U.S. jurisdiction, blocked the targeted leaders from dollar-denominated transactions, and barred international banks from moving money on their behalf.U.S. Treasury SecretarySteven Mnuchin said the sanctions would block "literally billions" in assets and that Iranian Foreign MinisterJavad Zarif would also be sanctioned within the week.[45] Zarif was later sanctioned on July 31.[46]
Also on June 24, IranianInformation and Communications Technology MinisterMohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi said the cyberattacks werefirewalled, commenting "They try hard, but they have yet to carry out a successful attack."[47] This followed a report inThe New York Times, citing current and former officials, saying the Trump administration was urging U.S. military and intelligence officers to developnew methods for unconventionalclandestine operations against Iran, to avoid using conventional military options.[48]
Iranian and U.S. officials have previously delivered conflicting reports identifying the drone as anRQ-4A Global Hawk or its naval variant, the MQ-4 Triton.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the aircraft had violated Iranian airspace, and that the incident sent a "clear message to America". But the US military insisted the drone had been over international waters at the time, and condemned what it called an "unprovoked attack" by the IRGC.
