Hopeless Trump Backtracks on Threat to Iran

The American president’s first reaction to the incident came in a morning tweet, in which he did not say how the United States may respond.

Trump declared on Thursday that Tehran “made a very big mistake” after the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a US spy drone over Iranian airspace, implying that US military action is in the offing.

Asked later at the White House if he plans to strike Iran, Trump stated that the public “will soon find out”, but softened his tone when he said his earlier statement that Iran made a very big mistake was not directed at the state, but at someone in the military ranks in Iran.

“I have a feeling… that it was a mistake made by somebody who shouldn’t have been doing what they did,” Trump stated about the incident on Thursday, speaking after a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“I find it hard to believe that it was intentional,” he added, noting, “It could have been somebody who was loose and stupid.”

Trump claimed that if US military personnel had been inside the aircraft, it would have “made a big, big difference”.

The US president denied that members of his administration were pushing him towards war, stressing that he wanted to end “endless wars” like Afghanistan and not get into new ones, but Iran shooting down the US drone is “a new wrinkle… a new fly in the ointment”.

Iran has stressed that it will not be the initiator of any war, but reserves the right to self defense and will give a crushing response to any act of aggression by the United States.

In response to the US president, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Rear Admiral Shamkhani said, “Iran does not take Trump and his statements seriously.”

“Tehran will not invade any country, but if it comes under attack, the invader will regret,” he stressed.

An “American spying drone” was shot down by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force over Iranian airspace at dawn on Thursday. The US Global Hawk drone was brought down near the Kouh-e Mobarak region in the Central district of Jask in Hormozgan Province after the aircraft violated Iran’s airspace. According to the IRGC, the US military surveillance drone was flying with its tracking equipment switched off at the time, violating international aviation regulations.

Commander of the IRGC Major General Hossein Salami stressed that the move should alert Washington officials to stay away.

The incident sent “a clear message” to the US and other enemies that Iran will show a firm and crushing response to any aggression, Salami stated.

“Borders are our red lines and any enemy which violates them will not go back home and will be annihilated. The only way for enemies is to respect Iran’s territorial integrity and national interests,” the major general noted.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been rising for the past several months, with the US sending additional troops to the region and blaming Tehran for attacks on several oil tankers in international waters. Iran has rejected the accusations.