Watch his news conference on the subject below:
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the United States and Iran (all times local):
12:38 p.m.
President Donald Trump is playing down Iran’s downing of an American drone, saying that it might have been a mistake executed by someone just being “loose and stupid.”
Trump told reporters Thursday that the shoot down of the drone was a “new wrinkle” in escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran – a “fly in the ointment.”
He was coy about whether the U.S. would respond, saying only that “you’ll find out.”
He said he has a feeling that it was a mistake – that a “general or somebody” made a mistake in shooting that drone down.
But he added that Iran made a “big mistake” and that the U.S. “will not stand for it.”
Trump’s words appear to signal that there may not be an immediate U.S. response to the incident.
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12:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump says Iran made a “very big mistake” when it shot down a U.S. drone, but he isn’t saying how the U.S. plans to respond, saying only “you’re going to find out.”
Trump is speaking to reporters while meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated over the downing of the drone, the U.S. exit from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and sanctions crippling Iran’s economy.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it shot down the drone over Iranian airspace. The U.S. military is calling the downing an “unprovoked attack” and said it occurred over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said: “It was in international waters.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it shot down the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone over Iranian airspace.
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12:20 p.m.
A senior U.S. military official says Iran shot down an unmanned American aircraft over international waters in an attempt to disrupt U.S. efforts to monitor the Persian Gulf area.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella says the shooting down of the drone follows recent threats to international shipping commerce in the region that the U.S. has blamed on Iran.
The commander of U.S. Central Command air forces in the region disputed Iranian claims that the drone was over Iranian air space.
Guastella told reporters Thursday that the aircraft was at high altitude and at least 34 kilometers from Iranian territory when it was shot over the Gulf of Oman.
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11:05 a.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the U.S. cannot be “reckless” amid rising tensions with Iran.
Pelosi said Thursday she doesn’t think President Donald Trump wants to go to war. And she said the American people don’t want war either.
“There’s no appetite for going to war in our country,” she said.
The country needs to be “strong and strategic” about protecting its interests, Pelosi said, and “cannot be reckless.”
Pelosi called a caucus-wide meeting of Democrats for later Thursday on Iran. House and Senate leadership will also be briefed by administration officials.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been rising over the collapsing nuclear deal with world powers. On Thursday Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone.
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10:23 a.m.
President Donald Trump declared Thursday that “Iran made a very big mistake” in shooting down a U.S. drone.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says Trump was briefed Wednesday night and again Thursday morning about the incident. She says the administration also will keep in touch with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Trump made his comment on Twitter in midmorning.
American and Iranian officials are disputing the circumstances of the incident.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it shot down the drone over Iranian airspace. The U.S. military is calling the downing an “unprovoked attack” and said it occurred over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz.
