President Trump announced on Thursday that the amphibious assault ship, the USS Boxer, shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz in a defensive action.
The Boxer took defensive action which had enclosed in on the ship, by approx 1000 yards, and was destroyed as it was threatening the safety of the ship and ship’s crew. Trump said this was the latest of many hostile moves by Iran.
- Trump has called on “other nations” to protect their ships as they go through the Strait.
- The Pentagon has since confirmed the incident.
Oil had moved off session lows on the news, with WTI trading at 55.71 after the headlines, up from the $54.71 lows.
The comments come as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high over a spate of attacks on cargo ships, the downing of an American drone and the British seizure of a tanker carrying Iranian oil. Earlier in the day, the U.S. condemned Iranian naval activity in the Persian Gulf and demanded the Islamic Republic release a small tanker and its crew that its forces seized this week. A State Department official who asked not to be identified discussing the issue cited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “continued harassment” of vessels in and around the Strait,
– Bloomberg
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