US President: 'Iran should do nothing foolish for its own benefit'

"There is no doubt about it. They shot down the drone," US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on July 19.

Trump's statement came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a video denying reports that the US Navy shot down its drone in the Strait of Hormuz. The video shows the USS Boxer warship moving through the Strait of Hormuz early on July 19. The IRGC said the timing of the video showed the drone was still flying after Washington said it was shot down.

Mr. Trump also emphasized that the US will respond to any further provocations from Iran. "We have the greatest people, the greatest equipment, the most dangerous ships. We do not want to have to use them. We hope that Iran will do its best not to do anything foolish. If they do, they will pay a price like they have never paid before," Trump said.

Trump on July 18 claimed that the US military shot down a Tehran drone because it came dangerously close to the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. However, Iran denied this information, saying that it did not lose any drones in the Strait of Hormuz or anywhere else.

Relations between the US and Iran have deteriorated since President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Iran shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, prompting Trump to impose sanctions on top Iranian officials. Iran said the US sanctions were the end of diplomatic negotiations between the two countries.