President Donald Trump ordered, and then abruptly cancelled, an attack on Iran Thursday evening after Tehran reportedly shot down a U.S. unmanned drone, he confirmed Friday morning.
"We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone," Trump wrote on twitter.
"I am in no hurry, our Military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world," he added. "Sanctions are biting & more added last night. Iran can NEVER have Nuclear Weapons, not against the USA, and not against the WORLD!"
The aborted strikes were intended to hit a set of radar and missile battery sites in Iran, according to CNN. No weapons were launched by the U.S. by the time Trump decided to call off the strikes, the New York Times reported late Thursday.
The Federal Aviation Administration has prohibited flights over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman due to the rising tensions in the area. Airlines that operate in the area have adjusted their flight paths to avoid the region.
Trump's aborted strike on Iran followed a day of high-level meetings after the Pentagon confirmed that Iran had shot down an unmanned aerial drone in international waters over the Strait of Hormuz.
"U.S. Central Command can confirm that a U.S. Navy Broad Area Maritime Surveillance ISR aircraft was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace," said Navy Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Central Command. "Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false."
Revolutionary Guard Commander Major General Hossein Salami said at a news conference in Kurdistan Province that the drone had been shot down over the southern coast of its Hormozgan Province.
"Borders are our redline, and any enemy violating these borders will not go back," Salami said.
Tensions in the region have been increasing in recent weeks following an attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman that the Pentagon said was perpetrated by Iran. The department released several photos of the incident which U.S. officials say proves their guilt. Tehran has denied responsibility for the attacks against the oil tankers. The Pentagon has ordered an aircraft carrier strike group to the region and recently sent thousands of troops there to protect American forces in the region.
Photo: Getty Images