WANA (Jun 01) – The U.S. military has confirmed carrying out strikes on targets in southern Iran after an American MQ-1 drone was shot down, marking a new escalation in tensions between Tehran and Washington.

 

In a statement released on Monday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had conducted strikes against Iranian radar sites and drone command-and-control facilities in Gorouk, a district of Sirik County in Hormozgan Province, as well as on Qeshm Island.

 

CENTCOM acknowledged the loss of an MQ-1 drone and stated that the strikes carried out over the weekend were “in response to Iranian aggressive actions,” including the downing of the American aircraft. According to the U.S. military, the drone was operating over international waters at the time of the incident.

 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), however, previously announced that the MQ-1 had entered Iranian territorial waters with hostile intent and was immediately detected and shot down by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense systems early Sunday morning.

 

The U.S. military further claimed that its strikes destroyed Iranian air defense systems, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones. CENTCOM added that no American personnel were injured during the operation.

 

The latest exchange follows a series of confrontations between the two sides. Last Thursday, after Iran launched missiles at what it described as the source of an American attack, U.S. media outlets reported that at least five American personnel were wounded and that two advanced MQ-9 Reaper drones sustained significant damage.

 

Meanwhile, Iran’s Aerospace Force announced on Monday that it had targeted and destroyed the origin of an attack on a telecommunications tower in Sirik County, stating that all pre-designated targets had been successfully hit.

 

The IRGC also warned that any further acts of aggression would be met with a “completely different response,” placing responsibility for any consequences on the United States.