Photo: Collected
Iran’s navy has said it shot down a US ‘MQ-1 Predator’ drone (unmanned military aircraft) in the skies over the Strait of Hormuz. The country’s semi-official news agency IRNA said the drone was brought down off the Sirik coast in the Kuhestak area. The news is based on reports published in Iranian media.
IRNA’s report also carried a statement from the navy. The force said it ‘will not hesitate for a single moment’ in protecting the country’s territorial integrity, maritime borders and interests.
IRNA also published several photographs of the downed drone. The authenticity of the photographs could not be verified. However, they appear to show damaged parts of some military equipment.
Background
This is not the first claim of a US drone being downed off the Sirik coast. According to the public relations department of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an MQ-1 drone was destroyed in the skies off the Sirik coast, east of the Strait of Hormuz — Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported the claim on 29 October 2026.
The same Tasnim report said that in early October the IRGC had claimed to have downed an MQ-9 Reaper, and in September Iran’s army had claimed to have downed an MQ-1 drone.
At a glance
According to a report by South Korea’s Financial News on 9 September 2026, the MQ-1 is a US unmanned aircraft used mainly for surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Sources
Background sources: Tasnim News Agency, 29 October 2026; Financial News, 9 September 2026
