IRGC Navy captures, lands US spy drone intact in Strait of Hormuz

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says its electronic warfare unit has seized an American MQM-170 spy and deception drone and landed it intact in the western Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC Navy’s public relations office said its electronic warfare fighters had successfully carried out an offensive electronic warfare operation, identifying the drone before taking control of its guidance and control systems.

The IRGC Navy successfully brought the drone to the ground intact, it added.

The statement said the drone’s mission was to identify Iran’s air defense systems along the Persian Gulf coastline and the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the IRGC Navy, data retrieved from the aircraft indicated that it had taken off from the coast of one of the southern Persian Gulf littoral states.

Earlier, the IRGC Aerospace Force said it had intercepted and destroyed an advanced MQ-1 drone belonging to the US military over the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC said the aircraft was brought down using the Aerospace Force’s new air-defense system operating under the control of Iran’s Integrated Air-Defense Network.

The latest capture comes amid a sharp escalation between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained under Iranian control amid the standoff. Iranian authorities have underscored that any path forward must begin with the US ending its interventionist actions and fulfilling its obligations, rather than pursuing new or revised formulas that ignore Tehran’s demands.

Over the past decade, Iranian forces have successfully downed or captured several high-value US assets, including the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and various underwater gliders and surface vessels in the Persian Gulf.