Iran Downs Second MQ-1 Drone in 24 Hours over Strait of Hormuz
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Iran said its air defenses destroyed a second MQ-1 drone within 24 hours as military tensions intensified around the Strait of Hormuz.
Key Takeaways
- The IRGC said its Aerospace Force intercepted and destroyed an MQ-1 drone over the western waters of the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday.
- The operation followed the destruction of another MQ-1 on Monday, bringing the number of drones of the same type downed within 24 hours to two.
- Iran says Hormuz will remain closed until seven conditions are met, as the IRGC steps up operations against unauthorized military and maritime activity.
Second MQ-1 Drone Downed in 24 Hours
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that its air-defense forces intercepted and destroyed another MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, the second such interception reported within 24 hours.
The IRGC Public Relations Office said the drone was detected and engaged during the early hours of Tuesday over the western waters of the strategic waterway.
According to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, the operation involved a newly developed air-defense system operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force under Iran’s integrated national air-defense network.
The IRGC did not identify the drone’s operator in its initial statement or provide further details about its mission. The announcement followed Monday’s interception of another MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Mehr news agency identified Monday’s aircraft as a US MQ-1 and said it had also been destroyed using a new air-defense system integrated into the country’s broader defense network.
Al Mayadeen, citing Iranian state media, identified Tuesday’s drone as American.
IRGC Steps Up Operations around Hormuz
The two interceptions come amid increasing Iranian operations against US military activity around the Strait of Hormuz.
On September 10, the IRGC Navy announced that it had destroyed a US Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel at the entrance to the strait.
According to the IRGC, the unmanned vessel was conducting a mission in the area when it was targeted.
Iran has increasingly sought to enforce its closure of Hormuz following the escalation of the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on February 28.
The IRGC Navy also said Monday that the supertanker Algaya struck naval mines after entering what Iran designated a prohibited zone south of the strait.
“The supertanker Algaya, IMO number 9325336, which was attempting to cross the prohibited zone south of the Strait of Hormuz, exploded after striking naval mines,” the IRGC said.
The vessel caught fire following the explosion, according to the statement, which said attempts to contain the blaze had been unsuccessful. The IRGC said vessels had repeatedly been warned against using unauthorized passageways.
Iran Says Strait Will Remain Closed
The incidents come as Tehran maintains that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until conditions established by Iranian authorities are fulfilled.
An informed source cited by Iran’s Tasnim news agency said Saturday that Tehran had communicated seven conditions for reopening the waterway.
“Until these seven conditions, which have been approved by Iran’s top officials, are met, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed,” the source said.
Iran and the US have remained at odds over navigation through Hormuz as diplomatic efforts to end the wider regional war have struggled to produce an agreement.
The US and Israel launched large-scale attacks against Iran on February 28, targeting government buildings, military installations, missile infrastructure and air-defense systems.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel and US military bases across the region.
(PC, Al Mayadeen, IRIB, Tasnim, Mehr)
