Iran says it shot down US military drone above territorial waters

Iran said Sunday it shot down a US military MQ-1 Predator armed drone above its territorial waters, according to the state-run news agency IRNA.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement cited by IRNA that the unmanned aerial vehicle entered Iranian airspace in what it described as a “hostile operation” in the early hours of Sunday.

It said the drone was detected and downed by Iranian advanced air defense missile systems after it crossed into territorial waters.

“An aggressive MQ-1 drone belonging to the US military, which entered Iranian airspace over territorial waters with the aim of carrying out a hostile operation, was identified and destroyed by the IRGC’s modern air defense missiles at dawn today,” it said.

The statement warned that Iran would respond decisively to any act of aggression.