President Trump shot-down recent claims Iran arrested 17 covert American spies Monday morning; saying there is “zero truth” to Tehran’s allegations and discounting the report as “more lies and propaganda.”
“The Report of Iran capturing CIA spies is totally false. Zero truth. Just more lies and propaganda (like their shot down drone) put out by a Religious Regime that is Badly Failing and has no idea what to do. Their Economy is dead, and will get much worse. Iran is a total mess!” posted Trump on social media.
The Report of Iran capturing CIA spies is totally false. Zero truth. Just more lies and propaganda (like their shot down drone) put out by a Religious Regime that is Badly Failing and has no idea what to do. Their Economy is dead, and will get much worse. Iran is a total mess!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2019
“The roundup of the alleged espionage cell ensnared 17 people during the past several months and was completed by the end of March, an Iranian official said at a news conference in Tehran. The official was identified only as the director of the counterespionage department of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry, which is highly unusual in Iran, as officials usually identify themselves at press conferences,” reports Fox News.
“The identified spies were employed in sensitive and vital private sector centers in the economic, nuclear, infrastructural, military and cyber areas…where they collected classified information,” said an Iranian official.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discounted the claims Monday morning.
“I can’t add much to it specifically,” Pompeo told Fox News. “I would urge everyone who’s reading that story that the Iranian regime has a long history of lying. They lied about where they shot down the American UAV, they now lied about where they took down this tanker. It’s part of the nature of the Ayatollah to lie to the world. I would take with a significant grain of salt any Iranian assertion of Iranian actions taken. ”
Read the full report here.
BREAKING NOW: Iran Shoots Down US Navy Drone, Pentagon Says ‘Unprovoked Attack’ by Tehran
A US Navy Drone was shot-down over the Strait of Hormuz early Thursday in what Pentagon officials are describing as an “unprovoked attack” by Iran.
“A U.S. Navy high-altitude drone was shot down Thursday by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions in the region after last week’s attacks on two oil tankers, according to military officials,” reports Fox News.
“U.S. Central Command said in a statement the that a U.S. Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance ISR aircraft, known as a BAMS-D, was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz at approximately 7:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday,” adds Fox.
“Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false,” Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement. “This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace.”
According to US officials, the pilot-less plane -approximately the same size as Boeing 737- was flying 17 miles from Iranian airspace when it was shot down by a single surface-to-air missile.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
BREAKING NOW: Iranian Forces Seize Second British Ship in Straits of Hormuz
Iran reportedly seized two British-operated oil-tankers in the Straits of Hormuz Friday; escalating tensions between the US and the UK after President Trump confirmed the military shot-down an Iranian drone operating in the region.
“Iran seized two British-operated oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz Friday, marking a fresh escalation of tensions between Tehran and the West,” reports Fox News.
“Approximately an hour later, a Liberian-flagged tanker operated by a British company was also seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was seen on maritime tracking services making a turn toward Iran,” adds Fox.
“I’m extremely concerned by the seizure of two naval vessels by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz,” UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement on Friday.
“Our Ambassador in Tehran is in contact with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the situation and we are working closely with international partners,” Hunt said. “These seizures are unacceptable. It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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