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Iran claims three US drones downed near HormuzWorld
Tehran says its forces brought down two reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island and an MQ-9 east of the Strait of Hormuz, as blasts were reported on the island.
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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed that its forces shot down three United States drones near the Strait of Hormuz. The claims were carried by Iranian state media and reported by international outlets on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
According to the IRGC Aerospace Force, two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones were brought down south of Qeshm Island using electronic warfare systems. The force said the two aircraft brought to four the total number of drones of that type it had seized.
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In a separate statement, the IRGC said its Aerospace Force had tracked and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz using a newly developed air defence system. The statement described the aircraft as the 55th MQ-9 its forces had brought down, operating under what it called the country’s unified air defence network.
The claims came as Iranian state news agency IRNA reported five explosions heard in rapid succession on Qeshm Island, in southern Iran near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Witnesses also reported aircraft in the sky over the island, and blasts were reported in the nearby city of Bandar Lengeh.
The United States military had not confirmed the Iranian claims at the time of reporting. The claims could not be independently verified, and no wreckage or other evidence was publicly presented alongside the statements.
Separately, a US official told the Associated Press that American forces had carried out what were described as limited defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iranian forces used surface-to-air missiles against US assets. US media reports said the strikes targeted assets involved in launching missiles at American military hardware.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints, carrying a large share of global oil trade between the Gulf and the open sea. Tensions in the waterway have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of commercial shipping and the risk of a wider confrontation.
The competing accounts underline how difficult it is to establish facts quickly in a fast-moving military standoff. Iran’s claims rest on statements from its own armed forces, while the US account, as reported, focuses on defensive strikes rather than on the fate of any aircraft. Until independent evidence emerges, the downing claims remain claims, not confirmed events, and the situation around Qeshm Island will continue to be watched closely by governments and shipping operators alike.
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