Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
18 July 2026•Update: 18 July 2026
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said late Friday that it shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the southern province of Bushehr.
According to a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, the drone was intercepted and destroyed by the IRGC Navy’s “newly” deployed advanced air defense system operating under Iran’s integrated national air defense network.
The statement said the drone was engaged moments after entering the area over Bushehr, without providing further details on the circumstances of the incident or the drone’s mission.
Separately, IRNA reported that the US military launched a fresh wave of missile strikes overnight, targeting areas in Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Lar, Darab and Yazd in what it described as the latest in a series of attacks.
There was no immediate comment from US officials on the Iranian claim.
Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks over the Strait of Hormuz, with the two sides trading attacks despite a Pakistani-mediated framework agreement aimed at ending the conflict and reaching a lasting peace deal.