Didn’t start war, says Trump as IRGC claims US-made drone downed

United States President Donald Trump said he did not start the war with Iran, while the IRGC claimed it destroyed a US-made drone near the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at a rally in Ohio ahead of the US midterm elections, Trump said Iran owns missiles but “much less” of them and that its drone manufacturers were facing problems because they “can’t get electricity anymore.”

He then said, “We didn’t start this war. It should have been taken care of long before I came here.”

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, despite Oman-mediated talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme already under way. Over 3,000 Iranians have been killed since the war began.

Drone intercepted near Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday, October 29, that it intercepted a US-made drone near the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC said the drone was downed off the coast of Sirik in the eastern airspace of the strait, according to state news agency IRNA.

The IRGC’s claim comes amid reports that US officials informed Middle East countries and regional allies to be prepared for potential renewed military action against Iran after next week’s midterm elections — as well as the possibility that Iran will attempt to retaliate against them, according to two diplomats briefed on the matter.

President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on whether to carry out new strikes against Iran, according to an Associated Press report citing US diplomats. The president, however, has repeatedly said that he is weighing ordering new military action once the critical November 3 elections in the United States are over.

Those threats and the fresh US urgings for allies to prepare for potential retaliation are putting the region on alert that a return to major operations could now be on the horizon.

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