Iran downs drone near Gulf coast

TEHRAN: Iran shot down an unidentified drone near the port of Bandar-e Mahshahr on the Gulf coast on Friday, Iranian media reported, four and a half months after the downing of a US drone nearly triggered air strikes.

The army downed the unmanned aircraft over Khuzestan province before dawn using a Mersad surface-to-air missile, said the Tasnim news agency, which is close to Iran’s ultra-conservatives.

Citing provincial governor Gholamreza Shariati, it reported that the army had located the wreckage of the drone in a marshy area and opened an inquiry into the incident. The accidential crash of an Iranian drone in the same province on October 23 prompted newspaper reports that an unidentified foreign aircraft had been shot down.

The incidents come amid soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington since President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed crippling sanctions. Trump in June authorised a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment.