Iran Says it Warned Off US Navy aircraft Close to Gulf of Oman

An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. US Air Force Central
An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. US Air Force Central
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Iran Says it Warned Off US Navy aircraft Close to Gulf of Oman

An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. US Air Force Central
An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. US Air Force Central

The Iranian navy said it identified and warned off a US reconnaissance plane near the Gulf of Oman on Sunday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

"After the warning, the plane was prevented from entering the country's skies without authorization," said the report, identifying the plane as a US Navy EP-3E.

While the opening line of the Tasnim report said the aircraft had crossed into Iranian airspace, the same report also said the aircraft had not entered Iranian skies and had left after the warning, Reuters reported.

Iran has had similar confrontations with US forces in the past. In 2019, Iran shot down a US drone which it said was flying over southern Iran.

On Dec. 31, Iran said its military had launched a drone to warn off a reconnaissance plane trying to approach Iranian war games on the Gulf coast, without identifying the aircraft.

Long-strained relations between Iran and the United States have deteriorated further in the last year, as talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal hit deadlock and after Tehran unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters.

Sunday’s announcement came a few days after the first A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

The combat air support aircraft arrived ahead of schedule following the approval for the platform to return to theater. They will fall underneath the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Dhafra AB.

“The 380th AEW is excited to welcome the 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and 75th Expeditionary Fighter Generation Squadron to the theater,” said Brig. Gen. David R. Lopez, commander of the 380th AEW. “Their arrival will enhance our ability to deliver airpower and defend the region, as well as provide us additional opportunities to partner with our Emirati hosts.”



Iran’s Khamenei Calls for Death Sentence for Israeli Leaders

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Iran’s Khamenei Calls for Death Sentence for Israeli Leaders

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

The supreme leader of Iran, which backs the Hamas and Hezbollah fighters combating Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, said on Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.

Ali Khamenei was commenting on a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense chief and a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri.

"They issued an arrest warrant, that's not enough... Death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders", Khamenei said, referring to the Israeli leaders.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The decision was met with outrage in Israel, which called it shameful and absurd. Gaza residents expressed hope it would help end the violence and bring those responsible for war crimes to justice.

Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.

The warrant for a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that triggered the war on the long-blockaded Palestinian enclave, and also charges of rape and the taking of hostages.

Israel has said it killed Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.