Iranupdated 48m ago3 min read
Archive photo · 2 December 2020IRGC Destroys 14th U.S. MQ-1 Drone Over Eastern Strait of Hormuz
11 West Asian4 Asian1 Other1 Western AlternativePhoto: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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IRGC says it shot down the 14th MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz. Destruction attributed to IRGC Aerospace Force using a new advanced air defense system.
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IRGC downs 14th drone
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-1 drone over the eastern Strait of Hormuz, calling it the 14th such interception. The IRGC said the drone was brought down by the IRGC Aerospace Division using an advanced air defense system operating within Iran’s integrated air defense network, and it placed the incident in the airspace east of Sirik in Hormozgan Province. The IRGC announcement came as the sources described heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, with Iran describing its actions as defensive measures in response to what it calls a US-Israeli war of aggression launched on February 28.
AzerNews also tied the escalation to July 8, when it said U.S. forces launched several waves of strikes on Iranian territory and Trump announced the suspension of the ceasefire later that day. The same AzerNews account said Tehran began launching strikes against U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, while it described maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz as brought to a near standstill.
Competing details and claims
The Iranian state media framing emphasized the IRGC’s air-defense system, with Middle East Eye quoting IRNA as saying the “14th advanced MQ1 drone was intercepted and destroyed” in the sky east of the Strait of Hormuz opposite Sirik. PressTV instead highlighted a different IRGC claim, saying the IRGC Navy’s electronic warfare unit seized an American MQM-170 spy and deception drone and landed it intact in the western Strait of Hormuz. PressTV said the IRGC Navy’s statement described an offensive electronic warfare operation that identified the drone before taking control of its guidance and control systems, and it said the drone’s mission was to identify Iran’s air defense systems along the Persian Gulf coastline and the Strait of Hormuz.
Shabakatu Ru'iyat al-Akhbariyah described the IRGC Navy’s operation as capturing and controlling a U.S. reconnaissance and deception drone west of the Strait of Hormuz, bringing it down intact without destroying it. The same Shabakatu Ru'iyat al-Akhbariyah account said the data recovered from the aircraft showed it departed from the coast of one of the countries located south of the Gulf, without revealing the name of the country or which entity operated it.
What comes next
The sources tied the drone claims to a broader risk of renewed offensive action, with Saudi Gazette saying the incident came amid growing signs of a possible new round of US and Israeli offensive action against Iran.
Saudi Gazette also cited a Wall Street Journal report that Washington told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a “short, intense military campaign” against Tehran after the Nov. 3 US midterm elections, while it said Trump had not made a final decision but was leaning toward a large post-election attack.
Iran’s state media framing placed the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian control, with PressTV saying the Strait of Hormuz has remained under Iranian control amid the standoff.
Shabakatu Ru'iyat al-Akhbariyah linked the escalation to maritime incidents, saying the IRGC announced the explosion of three oil tankers and fires on them within the past 24 hours after collisions with sea mines while traversing a route described as unauthorized south of the strait.
UKMTO’s earlier report, as described by Shabakatu Ru'iyat al-Akhbariyah, said it received a report of a burning vessel about 9 nautical miles north of the Omani city of Khasab, without specifying the cause of the fire or confirming any link between the incident and the Iranian announcements.