IRGC says two more US drones downed over Bandar-e Khamir in southern Iran

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that two US drones were downed in the skies over Bandar-e Khamir in southern Iran, according to a statement issued by the IRGC's Public Relations Department.

The statement said the drones were destroyed by fire from the IRGC's Imam Sajjad (a.s.) Air Defense unit, operating within the country's integrated air defense network. It added that the interception was carried out by IRGC air defense units operating under the coverage of that network. The IRGC did not give further details on the type of drones involved or the exact time of the incident.

The reported interception follows a series of incidents involving US drones in Iranian airspace and waters. On Monday night, the IRGC announced that its forces had brought down two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island using advanced electronic warfare systems operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force. That statement said the number of American drones of this type captured by IRGC personnel had reached four.

The IRGC has not published evidence of the downings, and no independent confirmation of the incidents was immediately available. US officials have not publicly commented on the reported interceptions.

Bandar-e Khamir is located in Hormozgan province, near the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which a large share of global oil shipments passes. Qeshm Island lies nearby in the same strategic area, where US and Iranian forces have repeatedly reported encounters in recent years.

According to Mehr News, the IRGC statement described the Bandar-e Khamir interception as the latest in a series of incidents involving US drones in Iranian airspace and waters.