Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps rejected US claims that a drone made an “unsafe approach” to an American aircraft carrier.
The IRGC’s drone division released a statement on Tuesday stressing that all aerial operations in Iran’s Air Defense Identification Zone are carried out in accordance with the standard safety regulations, rejecting the claims by the US Navy, Press TV reported.
“IRGC drone patrols in Iran’s Air Defense Identification Zone will continue with precision … to safeguard the borders of the Islamic Republic without taking heed of the psychological warfare operations of foreign forces present in the Persian Gulf,” the statement added.
Earlier on Tuesday, US Navy Spokesman Lieutenant Ian McConnaughey said in a statement that an Iranian QOM-1 drone flew within 300 meters of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in international waters on Sunday night, calling it an “unsafe and unprofessional” incident.
“Despite repeated radio calls to establish communications and remain clear, the QOM-1’s controlling station was unresponsive and the [drone] did not use any aircraft navigation lights while it made several passes in close proximity to Nimitz and its escort ships during active flight operations, coming within 1,000 feet of US aircraft,” he said.
