Trump Claims the US Downed an Iranian Drone

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Iran denies it, but if true it's an act of premeditated aggression against a nonbelligerent country threatening no one — occurring 7,239 miles distant from the US.

More on his claim and Iran's response below.

What do all his statements on major issues and actions say about his mental stability and fitness to lead? 

Duty to Warn is "an association of mental health professionals and other concerned citizens who advocate Trump's removal under the 25th Amendment on the grounds that he is psychologically unfit for office."

According to Psychology Today, over 60,000 mental health professionals signed a Duty to Warn petition, stating the following:

"We, the undersigned mental health professionals, believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States." 

"And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article 4 of the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' "

At the same time, according to the American Psychiatric Association's so-called Goldwater Rule, it's unethical for psychiatrists to judge a public figure psychologically whom they haven't examined face-to-face.

Yet the mental health professionals who signed the Duty to Warn petition did it believing Trump represents a danger to society. Therefore, they had an obligation to override the Goldwater Rule.

Trump's actions since taking office clearly are cause for great concern. He escalated Bush/Cheney-Obama wars while waging all-out war by other means on nonbelligerent Iran and Venezuela — wanting their economies crushed, their people immiserated, perhaps heading for direct or proxy hot war on one or both countries.

All politicians lie. It goes with the territory. When it comes to lies and deception, Trump resembles Star Trek — going where no US leader went before.

He fails the Pinocchio test time and again in public remarks. On issues mattering most, almost nothing he says is credible — most often saying one thing and doing something entirely different.

He's so conditioned to dissembling he consistently co-mingles facts and fiction — perhaps no longer able to distinguish between them.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on environmental issues alone, his "torrent of misleading statements and flat-out lies has an army of journalists working 24/7 to set the record straight."

The same is true for virtually all policy issues on his plate. Almost nothing he says can be believed.

On Thursday, Trump said the USS Boxer warship downed an Iranian drone, falsely accusing Tehran of a "provocative and hostile" act, threatening the ship, adding:

"The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities and interests, and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce (sic)."

A Pentagon statement said: "A fixed-wing unmanned aerial system approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range (sic)." 

"The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew."

According to Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi: "We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else," adding:

The "USS Boxer (may have) shot down (a Pentagon) UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) by mistake!"

On Friday, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported that all Iranian drones returned safely to their base, none downed in flight.

In New York for a UN Economic and Social Council ministerial meeting, Iran's Foreign Minster Zarif said "(w)e have no information about losing a drone…"

He re-tweeted a map posted in June on his page, showing how far distant the US is from Iran, captioning it: "Reminder."

The US is consistently and repeatedly involved in hostile actions in parts of the world not its own, what its belligerent imperial agenda is all about.

Trump's claim about downing an Iranian drone came hours after the IRGC navy seized a vessel in the Hormuz Strait it claimed was involved in oil smuggling, according to a statement.

Separately, Zarif said "(t)he issue of regional security and the necessity of preventing US-warmongering measures and the economic war that the United States has begun against the Iranian people, as in fact the economic terrorism is contrary to Security Council Resolution 2231, and the United Nations' responsibilities in this regard was discussed."

He also said he "spoke with the representatives of the congress (at the UN), and I will do it again, but I do not tell with whom I will talk, and I leave it to them to announce. 

GOP Senator Rand Paul may have been one he met informally. He opposes US military action against Iran. According to unnamed US officials, he proposed extending an olive branch to Zarif to reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Politico reported that "Trump signed off on the idea." DJT claimed otherwise, saying he didn't ask Paul to serve as a US back channel emissary to Iran.

Zarif, President Rouhani, and other Iranian officials stressed that talks with the Trump regime depend on it returning to the JCPOA and lifting illegal sanctions on the country.

Nor will there be a new JCPOA deal. "We have" one, Zarif stressed, adopted unanimously by Security Council members, making it binding international law.

Whatever happens ahead, "(w)e will survive. We will prosper long after (Trump) is gone," said Zarif, adding: "7,000 years of proof" of Iran's survivability. "Our time slots are in millennia."

Showing unrelenting hostility toward the Islamic Republic, Trump's Treasury Department sanctioned five Iranians and seven of the nation's enterprises on Thursday — related to its legitimate nuclear activities.

Note: A report by Toronto-based Global News said "Trump name(ed) Rand Paul as new Iran point person over a round of golf" last weekend, citing unspecified reports.

If true, Trump falsely claimed otherwise. If Paul is involved in talks with Iran, it's a step back from possible war.

While meeting with reporters in New York, Zarif said "I don't meet with emissaries" — making it unclear if he'll deal with Paul, acting as a Trump regime representative.

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