U.S. Says Iran Shot Down U.S. Drone

A U.S. official says an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down a U.S. drone flying in international airspace over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The official spoke to The Associated Press and the Reuters news service Thursday on the condition of anonymity as the information had yet to be cleared for release.

The word came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Thursday it had shot down a U.S. "spy" drone, though a different type, that was flying over Iran. But the U.S. military denied any of its aircraft were operating over Iran at the time.

The incidents come amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran's collapsing nuclear deal with world powers.

The U.S. official told Reuters the drone that was hit over the Strait of Hormuz was a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton. The official didn't say when it happened.

The Triton's manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, says on its website that it can fly for more than  a day at a time, at altitudes higher than 10 miles, with an operational  range of 8,200 nautical miles.

The drone Iran said it shot down was a RQ-4 Global Hawk. The claim of that shootdown came after the U.S. military alleged Iran fired a missile at another drone last week that responded to the attack on two oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blames Iran for the attack on the ships, which Tehran denies.

The attacks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran following President Trump's decision to withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal a year ago.

The White House separately said late Wednesday it was aware of reports of a missile strike on Saudi Arabia amid a campaign targeting the kingdom by Yemen's Iranian-allied Houthi rebels.

Iran recently has quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium and threatened to boost its enrichment closer to weapons-grade levels, trying to pressure Europe for new terms to the 2015 nuclear deal.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has sped an aircraft carrier to the Mideast and deployed additional troops to the tens of thousands already in the region. Mysterious attacks also have targeted oil tankers as Iranian-allied Houthi rebels launched bomb-laden drones into Saudi Arabia.