The air defense forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have said they shot down a US MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sea-news.az reports the IRGC released a statement on the incident.
“The UAV in question was tracked and destroyed by a new air defense system of the IRGC Aerospace Force,” the statement said.
The MQ-1 UAV is reportedly known for having logged 2,000 flight hours in Afghanistan. It was removed from the arsenals of the US Air Force and Marine Corps years ago and replaced by MQ-9 UAVs. However, it is claimed that the United States was forced to resume using MQ-1 drones after many MQ-9 UAVs were shot down.
It is recalled that the latest escalation in US-Iran relations began on July 8. On that day, the US Armed Forces carried out several waves of strikes against Iranian territory for the first time since a memorandum was signed between Washington and Tehran, claiming the strikes were in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump announced the termination of the ceasefire with Iran. In response, Tehran began striking US facilities located in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
