Iran Warns off American Drones near its gulf drills

Iran’s military reportedly warned off U.S. drones that it claims were trying to approach Iranian war games near the mouth of the Gulf.

The annual exercises that began on November 7 ended on Tuesday.

“The military exercise in Iran’s coast on the Gulf of Oman is to display the country’s military might and readiness to confront our enemies,” Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, the spokesman for the Zolfaqar-1400 drill, was quoted as saying by state media.

As per state broadcaster IRIB, U.S. military’s RQ-4 and MQ-9 drones changed their route after approaching Iran’s borders following “the air defense’s interception and decisive warning.”

The exercise location was bound by Strait of Hormuz to the east, Indian Ocean to the North and also included parts of the Red Sea. About a fifth of oil that is consumed globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz waterway in the Gulf.