The key facts

  • The IRGC said two MQM-170 drones were downed by electronic warfare south of Qeshm Island
  • Iran claims a total of four drones of this type captured
  • The US rejected Iran's account of Thursday's incident; contacts via Qatar continue

New IRGC statement

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Monday that it had shot down two American drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the semi-state Tasnim news agency, cited by Anadolu, the IRGC air defense forces used electronic warfare means against two MQM-170 aircraft, bringing the total number of drones of this type 'captured' by Iranian forces to four. The agency noted that the operation allegedly prevented the drones from carrying out their missions, but provided no further operational details.

A week of statements and the US position

The announcement became the third and fourth in a matter of days: on Thursday the IRGC Navy claimed it had hijacked control of an MQM-170 drone in the western part of the strait and landed it intact, while on Friday the state-run IRNA agency reported that a drone of the same type had been downed by electronic warfare over Qeshm Island. The American military rejected the Iranian version of Thursday's incident; the report does not mention any US reaction to Monday's statement. The editorial board notes that all four cases are described only by the Iranian side, and the cited materials contain no independent confirmation.

Diplomatic backdrop

The statements come against the backdrop of ongoing indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed on Monday that the two countries are exchanging messages through intermediaries, and Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi visited Doha to facilitate exchanges mediated by Qatar. The context of tension has persisted since February: according to the agency, the US and Israel began attacks against Iran on February 28, Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and American targets in the region, and a ceasefire was reached in April. On June 18, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but its implementation stalled due to disagreements over security issues in the strait.