Credit: Gary Raynaldo  / Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at UN world headquarters in New York Jul. 18, 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS –  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York Thursday.   Zarif told reporters he had no information on reports of a downing of an Iranian drone in the Gulf of Hormuz before meeting with the UN Secretary-General.  President Trump said earlier in the day that a U.S. Navy ship “destroyed” an Iranian drone.   NBC News reported that Trump said U.S. Marines jammed  an Iranian drone in the Gulf, destroying it.

“We have no information about  having  lost a drone today.”

-Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif  told reporters at UN Jul. 18, 2019

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video / Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at UN world headquarters in New York July 18, 2019. 

I want to apprise everyone of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz today, involving #USSBoxer, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship. The BOXER took defensive action against an Iranian drone…. pic.twitter.com/Zql6nAUGxF

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2019

The UN Monday expressed concern to the United States Department of State over travel restrictions on Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif during his visit to New York this week for a UN meeting.  Zarif  arrived on Sunday with a very restrictive visa from the US,  only allowing him travel from NY John F. Kennedy Airport to UN Headquarters, to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations, and to the Residence of the Iranian Ambassador in Manhattan.  Zarif is scheduled to attend ministerial meetings at the United Nations on sustainable development goals, which seek to combat issues including conflict, hunger, equality and climate change by 2030.

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