Iran Says It Shot Down a U.S. Drone, Escalating Tensions

Iran said Thursday that it had shot down a United States drone, days after American officials blamed Iran for attacks on international shipping, in the latest escalation in tensions that have raised fears of war between the two countries.
Press TV, a state-run news outlet in Iran, said that what it called a “spy drone” had flown over its territory unauthorized and had been shot down in the province of Hormozgan, along the country’s southern coast on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The United States military disputed the accusation that it had violated Iranian airspace, but not the loss of a drone.
“No U.S. aircraft were operating in Iranian airspace today,” said Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command, news agencies reported. But The Associated Press and Reuters, citing anonymous American sources, said a drone had been shot down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.