Iran's SNSC rejects Reuters report on receiving Trump's message via Oman

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has dismissed a report by Reuters claiming that US President Donald Trump has sent a message to Iran via Oman.

"The US has sent no letter to Iran through Oman," SNSC spokesman Keivan Khosravi told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Friday.

"This issue is not true at all," he added.

Earlier in the day, Reuters quoted Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying that Tehran had received a message from President Trump warning that a US attack on Iran was imminent but saying he was against war and wanted talks on a range of issues.

News of the message, said to be delivered through Oman overnight, came shortly after the New York Times said Trump had approved military strikes against Iran before dawn Friday over the downing of a US spy drone but pulled back from launching them at the last minute.

The paper cited military and diplomatic officials as saying that the US president had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries.

PressTV-Trump approves Iran strike, then abruptly pulls back: NYT

President Trump approved strikes against Iran before dawn Friday but abruptly pulled back from launching them, the New York Times reports. 

"The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off," the Times said, citing what it called a senior administration official.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that its air defense force had shot down an intruding American spy drone in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan.

PressTV-Iran’s IRGC shoots down intruding US spy drone

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps shoots down an intruding American spy drone in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan.

The IRGC said in a statement that the US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone was brought down by its Air Force near the Kouh-e Mobarak region, which sits in the central district of Jask County, after the aircraft violated Iranian airspace.

Trump initially issued a series of threats, insisting that the RQ-4 Global Hawk was flying over international waters when it was taken down by an Iranian missile.

However, the GPS coordinates released by Iran put the drone eight miles off the country’s coast, inside the 12 nautical miles from the shore, which is Iran's territorial waters. 

Read more:

• Iran will take US to UN over drone encroachment: Zarif
• Iran releases first photos of downed US drone's wreckage
• Iran downing of sophisticated drone to hurt US 'quite a lot'

Kremlin calls for restraint in Iran-US row

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia keeps a "close watch" on the current tensions in the Persian Gulf and urged all sides to show restraint.

"Tensions in the Persian Gulf are high and they cause extreme concern," the senior Russian official said of another spiral of tensions between Iran and the United States.

"We keep a close watch on the situation and call on all countries concerned to display restraint," Peskov added.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also on Friday said the United States is deliberately stoking dangerous tensions around Iran and pushing the situation to the brink of war.

PressTV-US pushing Iran situation to brink of war: Russia

Russia says Washington is deliberately stoking dangerous situation around Iran, pushing the situation to the brink of a war.

Ryabkov called on Washington to weigh the possible consequences of a conflict with Iran.

Read more:

• Putin: US attack on Iran would be ‘catastrophe’

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