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Trump, MBS discuss Iran, oil over phone

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ANI Middle East
Last Updated : Jun 22 2019 | 10:11 AM IST

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) held discussions over Iran over the phone on Friday, according to the White House.

The call comes shortly after Iran downed a US military drone on Thursday.

While Tehran claims that the "intruding American spy drone", RQ-4 Global Hawk, was downed after it violated Iranian airspace over the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, Washington has labelled it as an "unprovoked attack." The US claims that the drone was flying over international waters when attacked.

To back its claim, the country released an image of the flight path, showing that the drone was flying over international waters, in response to which Tehran released a video showing the drone had entered the Iranian airspace. The two countries' respective proof is similar until the final moments before the unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down.

The two leaders also discussed Saudi Arabia's "role in ensuring stability in the Middle East and the global oil market" during their phone call, according to Xinhua. Oil prices have surged after Thursday's incident near the Gulf of Oman.

Addressing the downing of the US drone, Trump on Friday also said that he had stopped retaliatory action against Iran just 10 minutes before the strike on Thursday night.

"We were cocked and loaded to retaliate last night on three different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone," he tweeted.

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First Published: Jun 22 2019 | 6:57 AM IST

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