Iranian Revolutionary Guard Downs US Drone Over Qeshm Island

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on Wednesday that its air defenses shot down a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island amid escalating military tensions in the Strait of Hormuz region. The Guard stated this was the fifteenth MQ-1 drone it has downed, while the US military has yet to confirm the incident. Earlier, electronic warfare units of the Guard's Aerospace Force forced two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones to land in the southern airspace of Qeshm Island, which had been targeted by a US strike. US forces targeted radar systems and missile launch platforms on the island as a defensive measure against surface-to-air missile threats, according to media sources. A US official described the strikes as a defensive response to Iranian use of surface-to-air missiles against US assets in the area.