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World
The US military refuted Iranian assertions that it shot down an American drone near Bushehr, confirming no US aircraft were damaged or lost.
The US military dismissed claims early Friday that any American drone or fighter jet had been shot down or damaged, rejecting Iranian allegations on the matter.
The US Central Command (Centcom) stated that "Iranian state television claimed Iranian forces downed an American aircraft near Bushehr, which is not true."
In a brief statement posted on the platform X, Centcom added, "The fact is no American aircraft were shot down and all US aircraft remain intact."
Within the substantial US military presence in the Middle East, there are dozens of naval vessels, including large aircraft carriers and destroyers, participating in strikes against Iran.
Earlier, a US official told Reuters that no American aircraft had been downed near the Iranian city of Bushehr, contradicting reports from Iranian state television.
Iranian state television had previously reported, citing an Iranian official, that an American aircraft was destroyed in the Jam area of Bushehr city.
The US Central Command announced that its forces had shot down five Iranian offensive drones and prevented a sixth drone launch from a ground control site in Bandar Abbas, eastern Iran.
Although limited in scale, these strikes highlight the challenges in negotiations aimed at converting the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran into a formal agreement to end the war ongoing for three months.
An American official told Reuters earlier on Thursday that "the military strikes were defensive, intended to maintain the ceasefire" with Iran.
Since mid-March, former President Trump has asserted that the war's end is "imminent," but both sides have yet to display significant public progress toward a common ground.
