Pentagon Says Reports of US Drone Being Shot Down in Iran 'Incorrect' - CENTCOM

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Pentagon on Friday denied reports that a US drone was shot down by Iranian defence forces in the province of Khuzestan, saying all American military equipment in the area is accounted for.

"Alleged reports of a US drone being shot down are incorrect," US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on Twitter. "If an Unmanned Aircraft System {UAS) had gone down in the CENTCOM [area] it was not a DoD asset. All US equipment has been accounted for".

Alleged reports of a U.S. drone being shot down are incorrect. If a UAS had gone down in the CENTCOM AOR it was not a #DoD asset. All U.S. equipment has been accounted for.

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 8, 2019

​The Iranian military earlier on Friday said that the country's air defence forces had downed a foreign drone near Mahshahr port in the country's Khuzestan province, ISNA news agency reported. It was unclear, however, whether the UAV was military or civilian.

The news comes amid a new escalation of tensions, as Tehran reportedly notified the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that three Iranian oil tankers have been attacked during the last six months.

Head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh looks at debris from what the division describes as the U.S. drone which was shot down on Thursday, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 21, 2019

© AP Photo / Meghdad Madadi

This is the second time this year that Iran has reported downing an American drone. At the same time, Washington is continuing to boost its forces in the region.

The US previously established a maritime coalition to prevent attacks near the Strait of Hormuz after several incidents involving cargo ships in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.