Trump says ‘hard to believe’ downing of US drone was intentional

President Donald Trump has played down the significance of Iran shooting down a US drone over the Gulf, saying he found it “hard to believe” the move was intentional, only hours after he had warned that Tehran had made a “very big mistake”.

Tensions between the US and Iran, which were already high, mounted on Thursday after Iran shot down a US Navy surveillance drone. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said its air force fired on the drone after it “violated” Iranian airspace, but the US said the unmanned surveillance aircraft was flying in international airspace.

“I find it hard to believe it was intentional,” Mr Trump said on Thursday while receiving Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, at the White House. “It could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it . . . But it was a very foolish move.”

Coming one week after Washington accused Iran of attacking two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, the drone incident raised concerns the US would respond with military action, increasing the possibility of a full-scale conflict in the Middle East.

Iran told Washington on Friday, via the Swiss ambassador, that the US would be responsible for the consequences of any military action against it, the Fars news agency reported.

The Swiss ambassador in Tehran represents US interests in the Islamic Republic as Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic ties.

Earlier, Iran’s defence minister said the US’s latest behaviour towards Iran and in the Middle East had been “suspicious and complicated”.

Speaking to an Iranian news agency, Amir Hatami said: “A series of developments is under way, which seems to follow general policies to create Iranophobia and a consensus against the Islamic Republic [of Iran].” He added that Saudi Arabia stood “blindly” by the US.

On Friday, Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, met Khalid bin Salman, Saudi deputy defence minister, in Jeddah. In a tweet, Mr Hook said they had discussed “the latest efforts to counter hostile Iranian acts that threaten the region’s security and stability”.

Prince Khalid, a brother of powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom affirmed support for the US’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which he said came as a result of its “hostility and terrorism”.

Riyadh has joined Washington in blaming Iran for the recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, while other allies, such as the United Arab Emirates, have been more cautious in openly saying Tehran is culpable.

But officials in the Gulf caution that, while the UAE has been urging de-escalation, further provocations could spark a more aggressive response from the UAE and its allies. “There are only so many times a bear can be prodded,” said one.

On Friday, Russia warned the US against taking “rash steps” against Iran. “Most of the fires in the Middle East were sparked by Washington’s incendiary line,” Interfax quoted Sergei Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister, as saying. “I would call this balancing on the edge of war . . . the US is deliberately attempting to escalate, the US is provoking this situation and pushing it towards the abyss of an open conflict.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a military conflict between the US and Iran could be a “catastrophe for the region” that would lead to an outbreak of violence and new waves of refugees. “It’s very difficult to calculate what could happen in the event military force is used,” he said. “Nobody knows how far these extreme [consequences] would go and who would be hit by them.”

The White House held a classified briefing for lawmakers on Thursday. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, later urged the administration to avoid taking a “reckless” approach to the crisis.

“It is essential that we remain fully engaged with our allies, recognise that we are not dealing with a responsible adversary and do everything in our power to de-escalate,” said Ms Pelosi. “This is a dangerous, high-tension situation that requires a strong, smart and strategic, not reckless, approach.”

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said he had made clear to Mr Trump that he would need congressional approval for any military action against Iran.

“The president may not intend to go to war here. But we’re worried that he and the administration may bumble into a war,” said Mr Schumer. “One of the best ways to avoid bumbling into war . . . is to have a robust open debate and for Congress to have a real say. We learnt that lesson in the run-up to Iraq.”

Some critics are worried that John Bolton, the hawkish national security adviser, will urge Mr Trump to take military action against Iran. Asked on Thursday if some of his team were trying to push him into war, Mr Trump said that was not the case.

“No, not at all. Not at all. In fact, in many cases, it’s the opposite,” said Mr Trump. “I said I want to get out of these endless wars. I campaigned on that . . . But this is something, this is a new wrinkle. This is a new fly in the ointment, what happened shooting down the drone. And this country will not stand for it, that I can tell you.”

Tom Wright, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution, said: “Trump has been suspicious of John Bolton manipulating him into a war since he started and that suspicion remains today. He wants to squeeze Iran but seems not to want a war.”

Earlier on Thursday, Lieutenant General Joseph Guastella, commander of US air forces in the Middle East, said the attack on the drone occurred “in the vicinity of established air corridors” and that the aircraft never flew closer than 34km from the Iranian coast.

US Central Command, which overseas US military operations in the region, said its Global Hawk high-altitude surveillance drone, which can remain airborne for more than 24 hours, was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile while over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes for oil and gas.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said the aircraft was shot down in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz.

When asked how he would respond, Mr Trump said in the Oval Office: “You’ll find out.

“This drone was in international waters, clearly,” the president said. “We have it all documented scientifically, not just words. And they made a very bad mistake.”

The Pentagon released a map that it said showed the drone’s path from launch to where it was shot down, in an effort to prove it had not entered Iranian airspace. 

The attack sent oil prices sharply higher, with Brent crude trading near its highest levels of the month. The international benchmark was up 4.5 per cent at $64.62 a barrel. 

Iran criticised the US for what it said was a provocative action. General Hossein Salami, commander of the Revolutionary Guard, told Iranian state television that the downing of the drone “sent a clear message” to the US.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, wrote on Twitter that Iran would take the case of the US encroaching on Iranian territory to the UN. “We don’t seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land and waters,” Mr Zarif wrote. 

The incident comes just days after Washington said it would send 1,000 more troops to the Middle East. The deployment followed attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Hormuz strait, last week, which the US and Saudi Arabia have blamed on Iran. Iran has denied any involvement.

Shortly after Washington blamed Iran for the oil tanker attacks, Tehran announced it would break the limits on its enriched uranium stockpile agreed in the 2015 nuclear agreement. 

Additional reporting by Andrew England in London and Siddarth Shrikanth in Hong Kong