IRGC says it downed US-made MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that a US military reconnaissance and combat drone of the MQ-1 family was detected over Qeshm Island and was subsequently intercepted and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force's advanced air-defense system. The announcement was issued by the IRGC Public Relations Office.

The incident followed a separate announcement on Friday by the Public Relations Office of the Iranian Army Navy Force, which said it had intercepted and destroyed a US-made MQ-1 drone in the Kouhestak area along the coast of Sirik in Hormozgan province. In a statement, the army navy said the drone was struck and destroyed after being successfully tracked and engaged by a new air-defense system operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Navy, working under the country's integrated air defense command network.

The two announcements describe interceptions of drones of the same MQ-1 family in southern Iranian areas within consecutive days. Qeshm Island lies in the Strait of Hormuz area, while Sirik is located on the Hormozgan coastline. The statements did not provide further details on the drones' flight paths, the exact timing of the engagements, or the specific air-defense systems used beyond describing them as advanced and newly operated.

Iranian military officials have repeatedly described such incidents as responses to what they call hostile reconnaissance activity near the country's borders and coastal waters. The reports did not include any comment from US officials on the incidents.

According to Mehr News, the IRGC announcement stated that the drone was detected over Qeshm Island and destroyed by the Aerospace Force's air-defense system, while the army navy's earlier statement said its new air-defense system, operating within the integrated command network, tracked and engaged the drone near Sirik.