An MH-60S Sea Hawk lands on the flight deck of USS Boxer (LHD-4) in the Arabian Sea off Oman July 16, 2019. (REUTERS Photo)

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. warship may have downed more than one Iranian drone last week, the head of U.S. Central Command told the media on Tuesday.

"We are confident we brought down one drone, we may have brought down a second," General Kenneth McKenzie told CBS News in an interview aboard the USS Boxer, the Navy ship which shot down the Iranian drone last Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. action on Thursday afternoon, claiming that the Iranian drone was "destroyed" in the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran later denied the U.S. assertion.

The downing of the Iranian drone came one month after a U.S. drone operating over the Strait of Hormuz was shot down by Iranian air defense system on June 19, which almost led to a U.S. military retaliation against Iran.

Tensions have been escalating in the Middle East following Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal in May 2018.