Iran commits act of war against the United States in international airspace

Many of us feared that this day would come; the day in which Iran crosses a line drawn in the sand, and sets fire to the sleeping giants of the western world.

Today, it has been revealed that Iran has shot down an American drone over international waters in an unprovoked attack that could lead to a major conflict.

This is far from the first bit of raucous, explosive action emanating from Iran at this stage of 2019.  Over the course of the last month, three separate incidents of oil-industry terrorism have been linked to the troublemakers in Tehran, including a magnetic mine attack on a Japanese tanker just days ago.

The drone incident has taken things a step further.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone on Thursday amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over the collapsing nuclear deal with world powers, American and Iranian officials said, though they disputed the circumstances of the incident.

The Guard said it shot down the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone over Iranian airspace, while the U.S. said the downing happened over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz. The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

The U.S. military’s Central Command called it an “unprovoked attack” and President Donald Trump tweeted that “Iran made a very big mistake” in shooting it down.

Trump has long maintained his hope of deescalating the Iranian aggression peacefully, despite the call to war being heralded by advisers such as John Bolton.  (This is nothing new for Bolton, of course, who has long been considered one of Washington’s most accomplished war-hawks).

Whether or not that peaceful transition can occur any longer has yet to be seen.