Lina Altawell
20 October 2026•Update: 20 October 2026
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday said that it intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
The Revolutionary Guard said the drone was downed early Tuesday while flying over the strategic waterway, the news agency reported.
It claimed that the aircraft was the 54th US MQ-9 drone it had destroyed, according to the agency.
The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
The US and Iran subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding in June concerning freedom of navigation in the strait, but implementation stalled over disagreements related to security in the strategic waterway.