Trump-Iran news: Russia says downed US drone was in Iranian air space, contradicting key claim by Wa

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Independent

Tom Embury-Dennis @tomemburyd
1 minute ago

Breaking News

Russia has military intelligence that shows a US drone was in Iranian air space when it was shot down, the secretary of Russia's Security Council has said.

Speaking at a briefing for journalists in Jerusalem, Nikolai Patrushev also said evidence presented by the US alleging Tehran was behind attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman was of poor quality and unprofessional.

Mr Patrushev's comments came after the US imposed new sanctions targeting Iran's supreme leader and other senior officials, which US president Donald Trump said was a "proportionate response to Iran's increasingly provocative actions".

The US government claims one of those actions was the shooting down of a US navy RQ-4A Global Hawk in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said the drone, with a wingspan larger than a Boeing 737 and costing more than over $100m (£79m), had violated its territorial airspace - a claim now supported by Moscow.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/trump-iran-news-russia-us-drone-iran-air-space-washington-sanctions-latest-a8973561.html

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[hlthe2b]

1. Hmm... Seems Papa's not happy and he's gonna smack down little Trump a peg or two

[ck4829]

34. Yep

[Achilleaze]

2. You mean the republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief lied to us?

Why do republicans lie, lie, lie and lie again to America?

Lying is evil. Why are republicans ALL IN on lying evil ?

Being evil is evil. I think a saint or somebody made a point of that.

[ck4829]

25. Shocked! Well, not really.

[oasis]

3. Will Trump take Putin's word over our folks again?

[watoos]

4. As Trump said in Helsinki

he believes Putin over our intelligence agencies. How will the puppet Trump respond to Putin?

Maybe it was Putin who stopped Trump from attacking Iran? If Russia isn't behind attacking Iran it isn't going to happen.

I always believed that Putin was allied with Iran because of the Iran/Iraq oil and gas pipelines. Russia would benefit if the price of oil went up though. Wars are always about money.

[oasis]

6. I like to see the MSM put Trump on the spot for this one,

especially after yesterday's Oval Office Iran sanction dog and pony show.

[ck4829]

23. Good question

[keithbvadu2]

5. This coming from Donald's pal, Vlad.

This coming from Donald's pal, Vlad.

[sakabatou]

18. Yep

[trev]

28. Even Bush liked to call him Pootie-Poot.

Name-calling is not just Trump's way, it's the Republican way.

[duforsure]

7. In other words

trump again has lied to the American people regarding Iran, and shows he can't be trusted . Even Russia is backing Iran's claim we were in Iran's air space, so trump lied about this . He's trying to create chaos and using it to claim later he fixed something someone else is responsible for, and all lies. trump is weakening this country daily with his policies, and his lying almost non stop now. Putin has him not attacking , and he's lying saying he didn't do it because 150 people could be killed, when he could care less about people getting killed because he could care less, and was because putin didn't want the strikes to happen. Shows how weak and impotent he has become. The American people are running away from him and all his lying too.

[Sapient Donkey]

10. What makes Russia's/Putin words more trustworthy than Trump's?

I put them on the same level of trustworthiness. I don't believe either of them by default. It's also not just Trump saying this, but the US military say it wasn't in Iranian airspace.

That being said, the US sending a non-stealthy drone like that into Iranian airspace doesn't make much sense, because they would know there's a high risk of it being shot down. You might say that they intended for that to happen so that they could attack Iran, but they didn't attack Iran over it.

I would like to see some sort of proof from either side to support their claims. I don't know if that's possible and how much any such data could be trusted. Either way, it's just a drone. Yeah, it's expensive, but it really shouldn't be enough to start a war.

[dansolo]

35. Putin will tell the truth if it benefits him

Trump lies about everything.

[Iliyah]

8. t-rump rarely tells the truth nor the WH, administration,

cronies, family and the Republican party.

Basically Putin is telling t-rump to back off Iran. So far as to additional sanctions, Putin and China and other countries will bring up the rear.

Everything t-rump touches turns to shit. USA is slowly falling down a ugly hole.

[Lonestarblue]

9. In other words, Putin made the call to stop the strike on Iran.

While Trump was not attending the meeting about the strike, was he talking with his puppet master?

[blueinredohio]

11. That's why Trump backed off the threats

Putin told him to.

[70sEraVet]

12. The UN Security Council should be involved

I don't think we should have to take Putin's OR Trump's word for where the drone was. There should be an investigation by the UN Security Council. Would our Congress be able to request that?

[ck4829]

30. Yes they should be involved

[Robot_Ears]

13. Trusting Putin over US intelligence?

What makes all of you want to believe Putin and the Russians who support the Iranians? Do you think Putin and the Russians would ever have said that the drone was in international waters?

I get hating Trump, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water and believe the Russians over our own intelligence.

[ck4829]

24. Fight Night: Time to pit the executive branch against the Kremlin

If getting to this point means boosting the butcher Putin in the short term to have these two right wing authoritarians try to destroy each other in the long run, then I'm all for it.

[amcgrath]

14. Small point ......

Iranians recovered the drone wreckage.

Does anybody believe that the US ships would allow Iranian boats to leave Iranian waters, enter international waters and recover a US drone? Really?

[Robot_Ears]

15. Not a smoking gun

How far away were the American ships? Were the ships told to stay back to avoid a conflict? Could the wreckage have drifted into Iranian waters? etc...

[ck4829]

22. Small but good point

[Demonaut]

16. who proof reads anymore "and costing more than over $100m"

[BlueIdaho]

17. Of course it was...

What fucking good can a surveillance drone do if it’s not in Iranian airspace and over land based targets?

Our government has a terrible track record when it comes to telling the truth about Middle Eastern affairs.

[ManiacJoe]

19. You might be surprised at how far hi-tech surveillance aircraft can see these days.

That said, the US Navy knows exactly where the drone was at all times and knows exactly where it was shot down. Interestingly, the US Navy is not talking much....

[BlueIdaho]

29. I'm sure we have the best toys...

Sadly I think our government is not interested in truth telling, it is more interested in wagging the dog.

[ck4829]

21. +1

[hack89]

31. You have no clue about surveillance systems

With the exception of space based systems we haven’t flown over other countries to conduct routine surveillance since the 1960s. We developed sensors that can look hundreds of miles across borders. And ELINT and SIGINT sensors can detect radars and other electronic emissions from a great distance.

[ck4829]

32. And yet it was so close up that Iran could throw a bottle at it and almost hit it

Did that particular drone need glasses?

[hack89]

33. It was a navy drone doing maritime surveillance.

It was over international waters on the look out for IRG boats.

[ck4829]

20. K&R

[John Fante]

26. Pretty sad that Russia and Iran have far more credibility

than this administration. But they do.

[dem4decades]

27. Isn't there a House oversight committee that can demand the information?

I know, i know but this is the type of information that if Trump gives it could prove problematic to most Americans.

Other than the Trump Idiot Horde of course.

[ck4829]

36. Golly, I think there is