But Iranian-Backed Rebels In Yemen Successfully Shot Down A Reaper Recently, U.S. Officials Say

Iran reportedly fired a missile at an MQ-9 Reaper drone that was responding to a distress call from an oil tanker which was attacked last week in the Gulf of Oman, but the weapon missed its target, according to U.S. military officials.

Fox News reports that the Reaper had arrived at the scene of the attack, which the U.S. says was perpetrated by Iran. The MV Altair tanker had sent out a distress signal during the attack.

The tanker is owned by a Norwegian company and flagged to the Marshall Islands. The drone arrived on the scene about 8 minutes after the first distress call was received. The modified SA-7 missile was fired from Iran's mainland, according to U.S. military officials, but missed its target, according to a report from Fox News.

At the same time, U.S. officials told Fox News that a U.S. MQ-9 was successfully shot down by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in recent days, but did not provide further details of that attack.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a news conference that Iran conducted a "blatant assault" on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in an effort to disrupt the transport of oil through the region. “This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication,” Pompeo said.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report