IRGC says it is monitoring US Scorpion Strike task force in West Asia

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that its intelligence forces are tracking the operations of a US unit known as the Scorpion Strike Task Force, according to Mehr News Agency (MNA). The task force was formed and deployed in West Asia to employ large numbers of LUCAS one-way attack drones, the IRGC said.

The LUCAS drones are described as low-cost US systems modeled on Iran's Shahed-136. According to the IRGC statement, the United States aims to use the drones in large numbers to increase its drone-strike capacity and to pressure Iran's air defense network.

The IRGC said its Electronic Warfare Unit and air defense units of the IRGC Aerospace Force have used advanced detection, tracking and counter-drone systems to identify and neutralize the unit's hostile actions. It added that intelligence and technical studies of the drones' operating patterns, structure and launch points are continuing.

The statement said that changing flight tactics, adding more munitions or using varied launch platforms would not make the drones immune to Iran's defensive measures. The IRGC also said that flight origins and facilities tied to the deployment of the attacking systems are under defensive assessment.

The IRGC emphasized that responsibility for any hostile action against Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity would fall on its planners, commanders, perpetrators and their host countries. The statement did not provide further details on specific incidents or locations.

According to Mehr News Agency, the IRGC's remarks come amid heightened regional tensions and continued exchanges over drone and air defense capabilities in West Asia.