IRGC says it downed US MQ-1 drone over Strait of Hormuz

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday morning that it intercepted and destroyed a United States Army MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement, the IRGC said the drone was brought down by fire from its new advanced aerospace air defence system, operating under the control of the country's integrated air defence network.

The IRGC described the MQ-1 as an advanced drone known as the "Beast of Kandahar" for its 20,000 flight hours over Afghanistan. According to the statement, the aircraft had been retired from the US naval and air force order of battle for several years and was replaced by the MQ-9.

The statement said that given the destruction of a large portion of the MQ-9 fleet, the United States has once again been forced to use the MQ-1. It added that, by God's grace, both types are being widely hunted by the IRGC's new air defence system.

The incident is the latest in a series of IRGC statements concerning the interception of US drones over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the entrance to the Persian Gulf through which a significant share of global oil shipments passes. The IRGC has previously announced similar interceptions in the same area.

No independent confirmation of the reported interception was immediately available, and US officials have not publicly commented on the IRGC's account. The IRGC did not specify the exact time of the incident beyond saying it occurred on Monday morning, nor did it provide further details on the air defence system used.

According to Mehr News, the IRGC statement asserted that the MQ-1 was destroyed over the Strait of Hormuz and that the new air defence system is operating as part of Iran's integrated air defence network.