Iran's IRGC says it destroyed a US MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz near Sirik
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says its air defences shot down a US MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Sirik, the 14th such aircraft it claims to have destroyed, a claim Washington has not confirmed.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Sirik in the southern province of Hormozgan, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.
The IRGC said the unmanned aircraft was brought down by a new advanced air defence system operated by its Aerospace Force under the supervision of Iran's integrated national air defence network. It described the incident as the 14th MQ-1 it has shot down during the war, and put its combined tally of destroyed American MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones at 68. The Guard released footage of interceptions under the title "Hormuz Hunting Ground", carried by Sepah News.
In a separate announcement, the IRGC Navy said its electronic warfare unit had seized control of a US MQM-170 drone and landed it intact west of the strait, claiming the aircraft had been tasked with mapping Iran's air defence systems along the Persian Gulf coast. Anadolu reported that the IRGC statement it cited did not identify the operator of the MQ-1, which is a US-made aircraft. The US military had not publicly confirmed the loss of any drone.
The strait, which connects the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, remains the centre of the standoff between Tehran and Washington. The war that began on 28 February has seen Iran effectively close the waterway to commercial shipping, disrupting a route that normally carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil.
The drone announcement came as US officials were reported to have warned regional allies to prepare for possible renewed American strikes on Iran after the 3 November midterm elections, even as diplomatic channels between the two sides remain open.
