IRGC says it downed two US drones in Strait of Hormuz — Anadolu Agency

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had downed two US MQM-170 drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Anadolu Agency reports, citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim agency.

Use of electronic warfare systems

According to Tasnim, the IRGC Aerospace Force used electronic warfare systems against the two drones. The agency claims that the operation prevented the aircraft from completing their missions.

Tasnim also said that this brought the total number of drones of this type allegedly captured by Iranian forces to four. The agency provided no other operational details of the operation.

Iran’s previous claims

The report was preceded by two similar statements from the Iranian side last week. On Friday, the state-run IRNA agency reported that the IRGC Aerospace Force downed one MQM-170 over Qeshm Island using electronic warfare systems.

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A day earlier, the IRGC Navy said it had taken control of another drone of the same type in the western part of the Strait of Hormuz and landed it intact. The US military rejected Iran’s version of this incident.

Contacts between Tehran and Washington

The report came amid indirect diplomatic contacts between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the sides continue to exchange messages through intermediaries.

He also confirmed the visit of Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi to Doha to facilitate the exchange of messages mediated by Qatar. On June 18, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but its implementation stalled because of disagreements over security in the strait.