Iran claims it shot down US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday that it had intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-1 reconnaissance and combat drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. In a statement, the IRGC said its Aerospace Force shot down the drone using an advanced air defense system operating under the country’s integrated air defense network. The IRGC described the incident as the downing of the 16th US MQ-1 drone.

According to figures released by the IRGC, Iranian forces have brought down 16 MQ-1 drones and 56 MQ-9 drones, bringing the claimed total to 72 aircraft of the two types. The IRGC said Iranian forces were continuously monitoring US aerial movements, reconnaissance activities and flight patterns in the area. Qeshm, Iran’s largest island, is located in the southern province of Hormozgan, near the northern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway connecting the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

Iran has repeatedly reported intercepting US drones over Qeshm and surrounding waters amid ongoing military tensions with Washington. The incidents come amid continued military tensions between Tehran and Washington following the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began on Feb. 28.