Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. drone on Thursday, though the two countries differ on the particulars, according to the Associated Press.
The Guard insists that it shot the drone down in Iranian airspace; the U.S. contends that it was flying over an international zone in the Strait of Hormuz.
Either way, the strike is just the latest in a string of what the U.S. sees as Iranian acts of aggression, after the blown-up oil tankers (Iran denies culpability) and the nation’s declaration that it was going to exceed its nuclear stockpile limitations spelled out in the 2015 deal President Donald Trump wrenched the U.S. out of two years ago.
Trump has reportedly been urging his advisers to tone down the notes of aggression, not at all eager to be drawn into open conflict. The Pentagon announced Monday that it was sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East as tensions rise.
