Iran Claims to Shoot Down Israeli Drone
The agency claimed the wreckage of a shattered Orbiter drone, an Israeli-made unmanned aerial system, was found in cooperation with Iranian naval forces. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the report.
Iran’s army shot down what it described as an Israeli surveillance drone in Hormozgan province, Iranian state-linked media reported Sunday, as tensions remained high around the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war continued.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said the wreckage of a shattered Orbiter drone, an Israeli-made unmanned aerial system, was discovered with the help of Iranian naval forces. The report described the aircraft as an Israeli spying and surveillance drone.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Iranian claim, and the report could not be independently verified. Iran has previously claimed to intercept or recover Israeli drones during periods of heightened military confrontation, though such claims are often difficult to confirm from outside the country.
Hormozgan province sits along the Persian Gulf and includes the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz, the key maritime route that Iran has largely restricted since the beginning of the war. The strait has become one of the central issues in negotiations between Washington and Tehran, given its importance to global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
The reported drone downing came as expectations rose that the United States and Iran may be nearing a memorandum of understanding on a possible deal to end the war. US President Donald Trump has said an emerging agreement would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but Iranian officials and media outlets close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have disputed that characterization.
Iranian outlets have insisted that Hormuz will remain under Tehran’s management, with Iranian officials saying they will determine which ships pass through the waterway and under what conditions.
The drone claim may further complicate the diplomatic atmosphere, coming as both sides trade conflicting accounts of what has and has not been agreed. Washington has pushed for a broader deal that would also address Iran’s nuclear program, while Tehran has said nuclear issues belong to a later phase of negotiations.