IRGC announces latest interception

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says its air defences destroyed a United States MQ-1 reconnaissance drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The IRGC said the aircraft, described as the 16th MQ-1 of its kind brought down by Iranian defences, was intercepted by an advanced air defence system operated by its Aerospace Force under Iran's integrated air defence network. The statement did not say what weapon was used or give an exact time for the incident.

No confirmation from Washington

The United States has not confirmed the loss of any aircraft, and no independent evidence of the wreckage has been published. Iranian media reported the claim, citing the IRGC, and Reuters also carried the report on Friday. The claim should therefore be treated as an Iranian assertion rather than an established fact until Washington responds or evidence emerges.

A pattern of claims over Qeshm

The IRGC said on Wednesday that it had destroyed a 15th MQ-1 over the same island, and on Friday it separately said its forces had grounded a fifth and sixth MQM-170 reconnaissance drone over southern Qeshm using electronic warfare. The repeated claims come as tensions in the strait remain high, with diplomacy between Washington and Tehran stalled and the United States weighing renewed military action. On Friday, the manager of the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Velos Sapphire also confirmed that a seafarer had died after an explosion believed to have been caused by a missile strike in the Gulf earlier in the week.