UN Chief Concerned About Iran Downing US Drone, Urges Avoiding Escalation - Spokesman
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed serious concern about Iran shooting down US Navy drone over the Strait of Hormuz and called on both countries to avoid any further escalation, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Thursday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed serious concern about Iran shooting down US Navy drone over the Strait of Hormuz and called on both countries to avoid any further escalation, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Thursday.
"He [Guterres] is very concerned about this latest development, about the shooting down of the drone," Dujarric said. "He has warned against any escalation, stressed that the world could not afford a major conflict in that area.
It is important that all parties exercise maximum restraint and avoid any action that can inflame the situation."
Earlier on Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had downed a US RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drone in the coastal Hormozgan Province because the unmanned aircraft had violated Iran's airspace. The US Central Command said the drone was operating over the Strait of Hormuz in international airspace when it was shot down.