Iran says it downed US drone, forced other aircraft to retreat from airspace

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tuesday that it shot down a US MQ-9 drone and claimed that an RQ-4 drone and an F-35 fighter jet also entered Iranian airspace before retreating.

The aircraft entered Iranian airspace over the Gulf region, the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

The force also said it reserves the right “to respond to any ceasefire violation by the aggressor US army.”

Earlier Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that US and Israeli aircraft struck Iranian vessels south of Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz, killing what it described as “several Iranian nationals.”

The claims could not be independently verified.

The developments come amid Pakistan-led mediation efforts aimed at ending the conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 and was followed by Iranian retaliation.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 and was later extended indefinitely by US President Donald Trump.