Iran Claims It Shot Down a US MQ-9 Drone and Fired on an F-35
Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims it shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired on an F-35 as American strikes hit missile sites in southern Iran, all while ceasefire talks continue in Doha.
Despite an ongoing ceasefire, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Tuesday that it downed an American MQ-9 Reaper drone and fired on a US F-35 fighter jet, dramatically escalating the war of claims between Washington and Tehran as nuclear negotiations continue in Doha.
The IRGC statement said Iranian forces identified multiple aircraft that had penetrated Iranian airspace and responded accordingly, claiming the drone was shot down and that fire was directed at the F-35. No immediate confirmation or denial came from the US military regarding the aircraft fire.
The Iranian announcement came hours after US Central Command confirmed it had carried out a series of strikes against military targets in southern Iran. CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins said the strikes were conducted as "self-defense operations" to protect American forces from Iranian military threats. Among the targets struck were missile launch sites and Iranian boats that were allegedly attempting to lay naval mines in the area.
"US Central Command continues to defend our forces while exercising restraint during the ongoing ceasefire," Hawkins said in the statement.
The dueling claims paint a picture of two sides nominally observing a ceasefire while actively striking and shooting at each other, a fragile equilibrium that analysts have described as less a peace than a managed confrontation. US and Iranian negotiators are currently in Doha for talks aimed at ending the three-month war, with Trump having declared over the weekend that a deal had been "largely negotiated."
The IRGC announcement, if accurate, would mark a significant escalation, representing the first time Iran has claimed to have successfully engaged an F-35, the US military's most advanced stealth fighter. Independent verification of the claims was not immediately available.
The strikes also came amid broader tension over the nuclear talks, with Iran insisting enrichment is non-negotiable and the US demanding that Tehran's enriched uranium stockpile be destroyed or transferred.