IRGC shoots down US MQ-1 drone in Iranian waters

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Sunday morning that it had intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-1 drone that entered Iranian territorial airspace over the country's territorial waters with apparent hostile intent, deploying advanced air defence missiles to bring the aircraft down immediately.

The IRGC's public relations office said the drone, belonging to the aggressor American military, was detected as it entered Iranian territorial airspace in the early hours of Sunday. It was immediately tracked by IRGC air defence systems and targeted by advanced surface-to-air missiles before it could carry out a planned hostile operation.

Following the interception, IRGC Air Defence issued a direct warning: Iranian airspace over the country's territorial waters is under full control, and any incursion will be met with a decisive response.

The MQ-1 Predator is a remotely piloted surveillance and light strike aircraft operated by US forces, used primarily for reconnaissance and targeting operations.