U.S. Drone Shot Down Over Yemen

​​​​A U.S. MQ-9 drone was shot down over Yemen on Tuesday by a surface-to-air missile, a U.S. official told CNN.

The U.S. government believes that the missile that shot down the drone was provided to Houthi rebels by Iran. The official also said it was not immediately clear if the drone was being operated by the U.S. military or the intelligence community.

The official said the Trump administration will publicly call out Iran for the incident, CNN reports.

Houthi rebels claimed its air defenses shot down the drone south of Yemen's capital, Sanaa. A Houthi spokesman said the missile was developed locally and will be revealed at a press conference, CNN reports.

The downing of a U.S. drone by Iran in June nearly led to a U.S. military strike, with President Donald Trump calling off the attack minutes before it was to take place due to what he said would have been a high death toll. U.S. officials alleged the drone was in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital shipping routes, while Iran said the drone was over its territory.

Also on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned against ending an arms embargo amid increasing efforts by Washington to restrict Iran's oil exports. The arms embargo was put in place by the United Nations and is set to be lifted five years after the adoption of the nuclear deal.

For more information on drones and security issues, see the article "Taking Off" in Security Technology magazine.