IRGC says it downed two US reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force said in a statement on Monday night that it brought down two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz, using electronic warfare systems. The statement was carried by the Mehr News Agency.

According to the IRGC, the two drones were captured through electronic means rather than by fire. The force said the incident brings the number of drones of this model in Iran's possession to four, indicating that two similar aircraft had been taken previously.

The IRGC Aerospace Force also said it had intercepted a US MQ-9 drone. It did not give further details on the location, timing or method of that interception, and no additional information was provided about the condition of the aircraft involved.

The statement places the incident in the waters and airspace south of Qeshm Island, which sits at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which a large share of global oil shipments passes. The Strait of Hormuz has repeatedly been the setting for encounters between Iranian and US forces.

There was no immediate public comment from US officials on the IRGC's account, and the claims could not be independently verified. The IRGC statement did not specify the exact date or time of the downings beyond saying they occurred before Monday night's announcement.

The MQM-170 is a target and reconnaissance drone used by US forces for training and evaluation purposes. The MQ-9 is a larger armed reconnaissance aircraft. The IRGC did not say what happened to the intercepted MQ-9 or whether it was brought down.

Mehr News Agency reported the IRGC statement, which said Iran now holds four drones of the MQM-170 model and described the two latest as having been brought down by electronic warfare systems south of Qeshm Island.