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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tuesday that it shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone and fired on other U.S. aircraft that it said had entered Iranian airspace over the Gulf region.
The IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and posted on its Sepah News website that U.S. military aircraft entered Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf region, where its air defense units “identified and shot down an MQ-9 drone.”
The force also claimed that its units fired on an RQ-4 drone and an “intruding” F-35 fighter jet, without specifying when the incidents took place.
The IRGC said the RQ-4 drone and F-35 fighter jet entered Iranian airspace before retreating.
According to the IRGC statement, U.S. military aircraft entered Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf region before being engaged by Iranian air defense units.
The IRGC said the MQ-9 drone was identified and shot down after entering the country’s airspace.
It also said its forces fired on an RQ-4 drone and an F-35 fighter jet during the same broader incident, describing the fighter jet as “intruding.”
The statement did not provide further details on the condition of the RQ-4 drone or the F-35 fighter jet after they were fired upon.
It also did not say whether the aircraft sustained damage or provide an exact time for the reported incidents.
The IRGC said it reserves the right “to respond to any ceasefire violation by the aggressor U.S. army.”
Earlier Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that U.S. and Israeli aircraft struck Iranian vessels south of Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz.
Fars said the strikes killed what it described as “several Iranian nationals.”
That claim could not be independently verified.
The developments come amid Pakistan-led mediation efforts aimed at ending the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Iran later retaliated against targets in the region.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation and was later extended indefinitely by U.S. President Donald Trump.
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