TEHRAN: Iran’s mmilitaryilitary on Saturday claimed it had shot down a US drone near Qeshm Island, close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, the Iranian Army’s public relations department said air defense units detected and destroyed what it described as a drone belonging to the “US-Zionist aggressor enemy.”
The statement said the operation was carried out by Iran’s integrated air defense network under the Joint Air Defense Headquarters.
Iranian authorities did not provide independent evidence to support the claim, and there was no immediate response from US officials.
The announcement follows a similar claim made on May 26 by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which said its air defense units had downed a US MQ-9 drone over the Persian Gulf.
At the time, the IRGC warned that it would respond forcefully to any actions it viewed as violations of the ceasefire or threats to Iranian sovereignty.
The IRGC also claimed it had tracked and engaged other US military aircraft, including an RQ-4 surveillance drone and an F-35 fighter jet, forcing them to leave the area. Those claims could not be independently verified.
