IRGC Reveals More Details of Downing US Drone
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) disclosed more information about a US spy drone it brought down on Thursday, including the aircraft’s itinerary and its unlawful and stealth maneuvering in Iran’s sky.
In its latest statement on Thursday, the IRGC Aerospace Force provided details of the American drone’s mission.
It said the ‘Global Hawk’ spy drone took off from a US military base in south of the Persian Gulf at 19:44 GMT on Wednesday (00:14 am local time on Thursday), switched off all of its communication systems, and flew towards the port city of Chabahar via the Strait of Hormuz in maximum stealth.
When flying back to the western part of the region, the unmanned plane violated the Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz and began to spy on Iran and collect information, the statement added.
The IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense unit shot down the intruding drone in Iran’s airspace at 23:35 GMT, it noted.
The doomed aircraft, an RQ-4C Global Hawk, is one of the world’s most advanced spy drones that costs more than $200 million to build.
The intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.
In comments made a few hours after the incident, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami said the shooting down of the US aircraft had a straightforward message that any foreign intrusion into Iran’s sovereign territories would draw a crushing response.
“The downing of the US drone had an explicit, decisive and clear message that defenders of the Islamic Iran’s borders will show decisive and knockout reactions to aggression against this territory by any alien,” he said.
“Borders are our redline, and any enemy violating these borders will not go back,” the commander underlined.
He also made it clear that Iran is not seeking war with any country but is fully prepared for any confrontation. “Today’s incident was a clear sign of such a precise message.”
The general also reminded the enemies that the only way for them to remain safe is to respect Iran’s territorial integrity, national security and vital interests.