Comment: See also:

• "Israel is the promised land and Brazil a land of promise" - Netanyahu meets Bolsonaro
• Looking up old friends: Brazil's Bolsonaro visits CIA before Trump on first US trip
• Leaks raise questions about 'impartiality' of probe that sent ex-Brazil president Lula to prison

Comment: See also:

• Crowdstrike and "Russian" hacks: Fancy frauds, bogus bears & malware mimicry?!
• DNC cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike may have fabricated Russian hacking in Ukraine
• Can't fool me twice: Of Crowdstrike's two claims of "Russian Hacking" - one proven wrong (so far)

Comment: Further updates from RT:

A US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement acknowledged that one of its naval surveillance UAV's was indeed hit on Wednesday night. Tehran said that the device had been spying over southern Iran at the time of the interception, but CENTCOM said this was "false."

[...]

Earlier, the head of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Iranian action had sent a "clear message" to Washington about its military posturing in the region. Iran also warned the US against crossing "a red line" and vowed to take all necessary steps to protect the country.

According to the IRGC, the drone was flying with its tracking equipment switched off at the time, violating international aviation regulations.

"The drone took off from a US base in the southern Persian Gulf," according to a statement by the elite unit. While in the air, the US allegedly attempted to make the drone appear invisible to radar.

It had turned off all its identifying equipment in violation of aviation rules and was moving in full secrecy.

Earlier, Tehran said its air defenses had shot down a US RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone overnight, after it illegally entered Iranian airspace over southern Iran.

Trump's response is lame. And John Bolton is on his way to Israel to learn what he should do next:

Amid disputes over the authenticity of reports that Iran shot down a US drone, US President Donald Trump tweeted early Thursday with a clear message: "Iran made a very big mistake!"

Washington claims that the surveillance drone was in international airspace at the time that it was brought down, while Tehran says it was spying on southern Iran.

An unnamed US official told Reuters that the debris field from the US military drone was located in the international waters area of the Strait of Hormuz. They also confirmed that US Navy vessels are en route to investigate.

"US drone intrusion into Iranian airspace is in clear violation of the UN Charter and national sovereignty of the country," Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, said Thursday, while urging his government to file a formal complaint with the UN.

Falahatpisheh accused the US of breaching Chapter seven of the UN Charter and that its drone operations constituted a hostile move against the national security and sovereignty of Iran.

US President Donald Trump has not ruled out an air strike against Iran in retaliation for the shooting down of a US Navy drone. The US military insists the drone was over international waters, but Iran says this is false.

Asked if the US was considering a retaliatory strike, Trump told reporters at the White House, "You'll soon find out."

"I have a feeling... that it was a mistake made by somebody who shouldn't have been doing what they did," Trump said about the incident, speaking after a meeting with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

If he was referring to someone within the US then he'd be right.

"I find it hard to believe that it was intentional," he added. "It could have been somebody who was loose and stupid."

John Bolton, Trump's hawkish national security adviser who has pushed for a hard-line policy on Iran, is on his way to Israel to discuss "regional security" with US allies in the Middle East, the White House said.

John Bolton, Trump's hawkish national security adviser who has pushed for a hard-line policy on Iran, is on his way to Israel to discuss "regional security" with US allies in the Middle East, the White House said.

Trump denied that members of his administration were pushing him towards war, saying that he wanted to end "endless wars" like Afghanistan and not get into new ones, just like he said during the 2016 campaign - but Iran shooting down the US drone is "a new wrinkle... a new fly in the ointment."

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has accused the US of waging "economic terrorism" and covert action against his country, and now encroaching on its territory.

"We don't seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land & waters."

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been rising for the past several months, with the US sending additional troops to the region and blaming Tehran for attacks on several oil tankers in international waters. Iran has rejected the accusations.

Video footage of the shoot-down published by the Iranian military:





Trump has climbed down from months of fighting talk in the most ridiculous way possible:

"It's hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth," he added. He suggested it could have been carried out by someone who was acting "loose and stupid" and characterized the incident as "a new wrinkle...a new fly in the ointment."

Major-General Hossein Salami of the IRGC called this Iran's "clear message" to the U.S. of their readiness to react to any aggression on the part of the Americans:

"The downing of the American drone was a clear message for [the United States of America] ... our borders are the red line of Iran and we will react strongly against any aggression," Fars news agency quotes Salami as saying.

At the same time, Salami said his country "is not seeking war" against other nations, but is ready to defend itself.

The Pentagon released its version of the flight path, claiming the drone never entered Iranian airspace:


It differs from the Iranian version only near the end of the flight path:

In the US photo, the drone retraced its easterly flight on a return trip, but in the Iranian version, the drone cuts much closer to the Iranian coast over the Gulf of Oman, during which time it would have been in Iranian territory.

Iran's ambassador to the UN sent it a letter restating that the drone conducted its flight "in full stealth mode as it had turned off its identification equipment and engaged in a clear spying operation."

"When the [US] aircraft was returning towards the western parts of the region near the Strait of Hormuz, despite repeated radio warnings, it entered into the Iranian airspace where the air defense system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, acting under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, targeted the intruding aircraft at 04:05 hours local time on the same date at the coordinates N255943 and E570225 near the Kouh-e Mobarak region in the central district of Jask in the Islamic Republic of Iran", Ravanchi said in the letter.

"The international community is called upon to demand the United States to put an end to its continued unlawful and destabilizing measures in the already volatile region of the Persian Gulf", Ravanchi stressed.

"This is not the first provocative act by the United States against Iran's territorial integrity. It is reminded that in all such cases, the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially protested to the U.S. through its interests section in the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran", the ambassador said.

Several ranking US senators are calling for a 'response':

"Iran directly attacked a United States asset over international waters. This provocation comes a week after they attacked and destroyed two commercial tankers in international waters. There must be a measured response to these actions", McCarthy and Representatives Michael McCaul, Mac Thornberry and Devin Nunes said in a joint statement.

This tweet sums it all up beautifully:



Updates 21 June

In reaction to the drone being shot down, the FAA has prohibited all American operators from flying over Iranian airspace - the suggestion being Iran could shoot down an airliner next.

US media is reporting today that the Pentagon 'almost' retaliated against Iran with airstrikes, but that Trump cancelled authorization at the last-minute when he learned Iranian casualties would like number around 150 people. That makes him look merciful, but it's more likely that they could not be sure Iran wouldn't escalate the situation further. Iran is NOT Syria...

Meanwhile, Iran's deputy foreign minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi said in a phone call with the Swiss envoy, Markus Leitner, whose country represents the US interests in the Islamic Republic, that "there [is] indisputable evidence about the presence of this drone in Iran's airspace." In the phone call, Araqchi also urged Washington to respect Iran's borders, both aerial and maritime, telling Leitner "the Islamic Republic of Iran would not hesitate for a moment to decisively defend its territory against any aggression."

The commander of the Iranian Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brigadier General Hajizadeh, claims that the downing of a US drone was a warning to an American military aircraft that was flying alongside its UAV and that Iran refrained from targeting the American plane with 35 on board.

On Friday afternoon, the Iranian military showcased the wreckage of the US drone:


Also, Iran has denied the US claim that they sent 'fair warning' ahead of 'nearly' bombing that country in retaliation...

See also:

• Why the United States will not attack Iran
• India deploys warships, jets to Persian Gulf to reassure own vessels amid rising Iran-US tension

Comment: More comments from the 'Direct Line' Q&A session.

On defense spending:

Russia manages to remain a great military power despite decreasing its defense budget, while other countries keep pumping money into their armies, Vladimir Putin said, during his annual Direct Line Q&A session.

"We are probably the only great military power that is reducing its defense spending," the President pointed out. At around $48 billion, "Russia is just seventh in the world in absolute value" when it comes to the size of the military budget, he reminded his audience. "We are surpassed -sizably- by the US, which spends $720 billion dollars" and by other countries, including Saudi Arabia, UK, France and Japan, he said.

But despite all this, Russia not only manages to maintain military and nuclear parity, but also to "surpass our competitors by two or three steps," he said, adding that "it's something to be proud of. No other country has such state-of-the-art high-tech weaponry like ours. I'm talking primarily about our hypersonic missile technologies."

Russia's defense budget, which stands at 2.9 percent of GDP in 2019, will drop to 2.87 percent next year and to 2.8 percent in 2021, according to the head of state.
"The trend to reduce military spending is there," but defense remains an important expenditure for the state, he said, remembering a famous quote: "If you don't want to feed your army - get ready to feed someone else's."

On sanctions and EU losses:

Western economic restrictions have deprived the Russian economy of $50 billion, but the European Union has been hit harder, losing $240 billion since 2014, according Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Other countries also felt the impact of anti-Russian sanctions. The US, which does not have the biggest trade turnover with Russia, has lost $17 billion due to sanctions, while Japan lost $27 billion. "It affects the jobs in these countries, including the European Union. They lose our market," the Russian president stated.

Putin added that the West is unlikely to significantly change its attitude toward Russia anytime soon, so Russia must strengthen its economy to secure its "place under the sun."

Russia has managed to benefit from Western economic pressure, according to the president, as the country started phasing out imports and replacing them with domestically made products, even in sectors in which it did not have any experience. As an example, Putin said that prior to sanctions, Russia had never produced marine engines, but developed them out of necessity, with some even surpassing foreign analogues. The same applies to transport and power industry engineering, he added.

Putin's grand deal Syria:

Russia will not reach any agreement with the United States on the future of Syria at the cost of Syria itself or Moscow's interests and principles, President Vladimir Putin has said.

A journalist asked Putin if there would be a "grand deal" with the US on Syria as the country begins to recover from years of hostilities and destruction.

"What do you mean 'a grand deal'? Sounds like some commercial act. No. We don't sell out our allies, our interests or our principles," Putin said.

He said that Russia is willing to negotiate a political transition in Syria with various stakeholders. "Can it be done? I believe it can, provided there is goodwill of everyone involved in the conflict."

Putin highlighted Turkey and Iran as Russia's immediate partners in resolving the Syrian crisis, but said countries like the US, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan have legitimate interests in what happens in Syria as do the European nations, which were hurt by mass migration triggered by it. "We have to work together on it," he stressed.

On MH17 downing:

President Vladimir Putin has dismissed allegations by international investigators who have accused three Russians, one Ukrainian of using a surface-to-air missile, brought from Russia, to shoot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

Asked whether he thought it was time for Russia to acknowledge responsibility for the shooting down of the plane, with the loss of almost 300 lives, Putin said there was nothing to acknowledge.

"Russia never avoids responsibility that is actually hers to bear. What we were presented as proof of Russia's guilt absolutely doesn't satisfy us. We believe it is no proof at all," he said.

"We have a version of our own, which we presented. But unfortunately nobody wants to listen to us. As long as we don't have real dialogue, we won't find the right answers to the questions about this tragedy and the deaths of people. We certainly mourn them and we believe such acts are intolerable."

US war on Iran could cause 'disaster' in Middle East:

It's hard to calculate Iran's response to a potential US invasion, Vladimir Putin has said, adding that assaulting the Gulf state could bring "disaster" to the entire Middle East region.

There are voices in the US calling for a military action against Iran, but hopefully, such a scenario will never come true, Putin admitted on Thursday. An all-out invasion of Iran could trigger "a disaster in the region" due to the spike in violence and, possibly, waves of refugees fleeing for safety. That aside, "anyone attempting to do this" would also pay a price, he cautioned. "It is hard to foresee what happens if military force is used."

Iran is a Shiite country and Iranians have a reputation as people that go to extremes if their country is attacked, according to Putin. "No one knows what those extremes will bring and it's hard to say who will be affected."

Comment: See also:

• Clarity for Donbass? Putin reportedly proposes new referendum to Trump
• Common sense: 7-step plan proposed by Putin to stop hostilities in E. Ukraine
• Trump administration halts provision of lethal weapons to Ukraine
• Oliver Stone urges Trump to make public any secret documents on origins of Obama's actions in Ukraine
• Kremlin: Putin will laud Zelensky if he ends war & mends ties with Russia
• Zelensky has no intention to delay peacemaking in Donbass

Comment: See also:

• "Astonishing fraud": Pentagon stashes billions, spends it later to avoid accountability
• Shock report reveals Pentagon & HUD 'lost' $21 TRILLION-Enough to pay back Nat'l debt
• Pentagon accounting 'error': US taxpayer foots fuel bill for Saudi jets pounding Yemen
• Pentagon rippoff! Thousands of California soldiers forced to repay enlistment bonuses a decade after going to war
• What would you do with 8.5 trillion and total secrecy? US government clueless about missing Pentagon cash
• America's addiction to military-industrial money

Comment: See also:

• Trump whisperer? Tucker Carlson advice to Trump: War with Iran not 'in anyone's interest'
• Conflicting agendas: Trump tells team to tone down tough talk on Iran
• Iran shoots down US Global Hawk, reportedly over Iranian territory - UPDATES