IRGC Claims It Shot Down a U.S. MQ-1 Drone Over the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says an advanced American MQ-1 drone was intercepted and destroyed on Monday in the skies west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Iranian agency Tasnim.

The statement says the drone was intercepted and destroyed in the skies west of the Strait of Hormuz, while no further details about the crash site or the aircraft’s wreckage have been made public.

The claim comes at a moment of high tension in the region. On Monday, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a minimum, with only four vessels transiting it, while the price of Brent crude climbed above $106 per barrel, according to data cited by Reuters.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil consumption passes, is at the center of the war between the United States and Iran that began in February. Both sides have exchanged accusations over attacks on ships and military assets in the region.

So far, no official American reaction to the IRGC’s claim of downing the drone has been reported.

Burimi: Al Jazeera