Iran claims downing of US MQ-9 drone over Bushehr province

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it shot down a US MQ-9 drone over Khormoj in the southern province of Bushehr early Wednesday, Iranian state media reported.

State broadcaster Press TV said the drone was intercepted and destroyed by an air defense system following what it described as “aerial aggression” by US forces over Bushehr province.

No further details were immediately available about the circumstances of the incident.

There was no immediate comment from US authorities on the Iranian claim.

The announcement came after the US military said it had carried out a new round of strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 targets in response to the latest Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes were conducted “as an immediate response to attacks by Iran on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

Separately, the IRGC said it had launched a missile and drone operation targeting 85 US military sites, including Salman Port, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.