Iran said Thursday it would go to the UN to prove that a US spy drone it shot down had entered Iranian airspace, contrary to Washington's claims.
"We'll take this new aggression to #UN & show that the US is lying about international waters," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, after a US general said the drone was taken down some 34 kilometres (21 miles) off the Iranian coast.
"The US wages #EconomicTerrorism on Iran, has conducted covert action against us & now encroaches on our territory," he wrote.
"We don't seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land & waters."
With tensions soaring between the two countries following a series of attacks against tankers in the Gulf, the Pentagon confirmed a US surveillance drone had been shot down by Iranian forces.
But it insisted the unmanned aircraft was in international airspace.
The Pentagon released a graphic pinpointing the position of the drone on a map of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic passage through which some 35 percent of the world's seaborne oil passes.
The downing with an Iranian surface-to-air missile "occurred in the vicinity of established air corridors between Dubai, UAE, and Oman", said Lieutenant General Joseph Guastella, who commands US air forces in the region.
Iran said the "US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone" was hit with a missile "after violating Iranian air space" over the waters of Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
"I'm Ashamed...": Iran President's Deputy Quits Days After Assuming Charge US Resumes Its Drone Surveillance Mission Over Black Sea After Russia Intercept Remarks By Iran's Foreign Minister In Audio Leak "Big Mistake": Top Leader Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Doctors Halt OPD Services Amid Nationwide Strike Over Kolkata Rape Horror CBI Team At Kolkata Hospital For Digital Mapping Of Crime Scene "Climate Change A Downside Risk To Indian Economy": Gita Gopinath To NDTV High-Value Cash Transactions At Hotels, Hospitals Come Under Tax Scrutiny UGC NET Exam 2024 Admit Card Out, Check Steps To Download Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.