Tasnim's 20 April claim of IRGC drone launches against US Navy vessels in the Sea of Oman remained unconfirmed through 21 April. CENTCOM issued neither confirmation nor denial. Tasnim's original report named neither a target hull nor an intercept outcome, which keeps both Tehran's and Washington's escalation thresholds ambiguous.
The silence tracks the pre-deadline discretion pattern behind whitehouse.gov's extended zero on Iran instruments. A confirmed drone launch would harden Hawley's AUMF case by creating an ongoing hostility the White House cannot describe as winding down. A denial would require CENTCOM to acknowledge the claim on the record, which in turn would commit it to a public position ahead of the WPR clock that expires at end of month. Non-response does the discretion work that signed paper would foreclose.
