Shooting Down of the US Drone by Iranian Forces from International Law Perspective

On 20 June, 2019, a U.S. drone was shot down by the Iranian forces while spying above the Iran’s territory. It is said by the Iranian officials that the drone ignored the warning signals. Under the 1944 Chicago Convention, military and civilian aircrafts including drones shall be flown over territories of a contracting State with a special authorization of that State. The 1993 Act on the Marine Areas of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, also excluded the passage of foreign vessels aimed at collecting information prejudicial to the national security, defense or economic interests of Iran as an innocent passage. Further, under article 39(1)b of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, during the transit passage, ships and aircrafts shall “refrain from any threat or use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of States bordering the strait, or in any other manner in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations”. The entering into the territory of Iran by the U.S. drone which was with the purpose of collecting information from the army targets was prejudicial to the Iranian national interest. Iran`s reaction in shooting down of the drone is compatible with the inherent right of self-defense enshrined in article 51 of the UN Charter. As a result, the Iranian government could use force based on the self-defense principle.