\u201cI, hereby, announce officially that no drone belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran has been shot down,\u201d Major General Hossein Salami\u00a0told reporters in the western Iranian city of Khorramabad on Wednesday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Major Gen. Hossein Salami<\/p><\/div>\n He went on to say that an Iranian drone was on a reconnaissance mission in the skies over Persian Gulf waters for three hours and 40 minutes, underlining that the aircraft sent images and videos of regional and transregional vessels \u2013 some of which were broadcast to enlighten the Iranian and world public opinions.<\/span><\/p>\n Salami then challenged the US to offer convincing proof for its claim of shooting down the Iranian drown, saying, \u201cToday, the world would not believe unsubstantiated remarks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEnemies should present the Iranian-made parts of the drone and substantiate their claims. Otherwise, no one would believe their spurious allegations,\u201d the top IRGC commander said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI state it unequivocally: This is a big lie and we have proved it false. Enemies should provide evidence for their claims, because we have validated what we have already done. They (enemies) should do the same,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n The remarks came in reaction to remarks by a US general who claimed\u00a0the US forces took action against a second Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz last week, but did not see the drone go into the water.<\/span><\/p>\n “We’re confident we brought down one drone; we may have brought down a second,”\u00a0CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said on Tuesday,\u00a0while failing to procure any evidence for bringing down the first one despite claiming to be in possession of its footage.<\/span><\/p>\n Moving between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the USS Boxer is said to have used electronic measures to take down a drone, which Washington claims was being operated by Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n “We believe two drones were successfully engaged,” McKenzie claimed, speaking aboard the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship. “There may have been more that, you know, we’re not aware of. Those are the two that we engaged successfully.”<\/span><\/p>\n US President Donald Trump announced on July 18 that the USS Boxer downed an Iranian drone<\/a> that came within 1,000 yards of the Navy ship and ignored \u201cmultiple calls to stand down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A few hours after Trump’s allegation, Iran moved to reject his claim with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi saying in a tweet that \u201cWe have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS by mistake!<\/p>\n — Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 19, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Brig.-Gen.-Hossein-Salami.jpg\")
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