Iran downs US drone as Middle East tensions escalate

Iran’s military has announced that it shot down a US MQ-1 drone near Kuhestak, off the coast of Sirik in Hormozgan Province, amid continuing tensions in the region.

The announcement was carried by Iranian state media on Friday. Tehran said the drone was brought down near its southern coastline. No immediate details were provided about the circumstances of the incident or the US response.

Iran has previously claimed to have destroyed or captured several US drones and autonomous maritime vehicles during the year.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Mostafa Izadi, warned that Iran’s armed forces would respond immediately and decisively to any aggression.

Speaking at a ceremony on Friday, Izadi said Iran’s military response would not be limited by geographical boundaries. He recalled the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq, saying the country had stood firm against a united front of Eastern and Western powers during that conflict and its aftermath.

Izadi alleged that Iran’s adversaries wanted to weaken the country by encouraging its disintegration, overthrowing its leadership, undermining its nuclear and missile capabilities, targeting its regional allies and gaining control of its oil resources.

He said Iran was prepared to defend itself through its missile systems, air defences, drones and naval forces. He also claimed that enemy bases on land and at sea had come under attack.

In a separate development, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas struck a naval mine and suffered an explosion while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.

Iranian state media reported that the vessel had been using what authorities described as an unauthorised and dangerous route. No immediate information was released about the tanker, its ownership or possible casualties.

The announcement followed reports by Iranian media on Thursday that four oil tankers had been hit by explosions in the strategic waterway. Iranian authorities alleged that the vessels had ignored warnings and entered restricted maritime areas.

Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz remains under pressure despite a recent recovery in vessel movements and expectations of reduced tensions in the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

According to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, at least 10 ships were struck during the first 10 days of November. The waterway recorded 37 attacks in October, the highest monthly figure since the conflict began in late February.

The continued incidents have raised concerns over the safety of one of the world’s most important routes for international energy shipments.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed growing concern over an underground uranium-enrichment facility in Isfahan that Iran declared last year but has not allowed the agency to inspect.

In a confidential report circulated to member states on Friday, the UN nuclear watchdog said it did not know the facility’s exact location or its status under international safeguards. It also said it could not establish whether nuclear material was present at the site.

The facility, known as the Isfahan Fuel Enrichment Plant, has become another point of concern in international efforts to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.

The report highlighted the agency’s limited access to information about the site, leaving questions about its current status and activities unresolved.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi movement said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province on Friday.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki announced the interception in a statement posted on social media platform X. He did not provide further details about the drone’s origin, intended target or any damage caused by the incident.

The interception comes amid renewed tensions involving the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with the coalition reporting repeated attempts to target the kingdom with missiles and drones.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa and other parts of the country in 2014. Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

A period of relative calm that began in April 2022 ended with renewed fighting in July, leaving around 12,000 people dead or wounded, according to the United Nations.

Separately, the US military has rejected an Israeli media report suggesting that Washington was preparing for a possible resumption of military operations against Iran.

A US Central Command (CENTCOM) official told Anadolu that there had been no changes to the American military’s force posture in the Middle East. The official described reports of preparations for renewed operations as “pure speculation”.

The response followed a report by Israeli public broadcaster KAN, which claimed that CENTCOM had urged Israel to prepare for a possible return to military operations against Iran in the near future.

The report also alleged that the message had been conveyed to Israeli military representatives in the United States and that Washington was sending similar warnings to Gulf countries through security channels.

KAN further claimed that the US had deployed around 200 aerial refuelling aircraft across the Middle East and Europe. It also reported that two aircraft carriers, the USS George Washington and USS George H.W. Bush, were already in the region, while a third, the USS Roosevelt, was expected to arrive in the Arabian Sea the following week.

However, CENTCOM’s denial indicated that the reported changes to US military preparations had not been confirmed.