{"id":48350,"date":"2026-03-14T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/?p=48350"},"modified":"2026-03-19T20:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:27:07","slug":"iran-claims-downing-us-mq9-drone-bandar-abbas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/iran-claims-downing-us-mq9-drone-bandar-abbas\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran claims downing of US MQ-9 drone near Bandar Abbas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style='background:#f7fafc;padding:15px;'>\n<p><strong>Quick Read<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Iran claims its air defense systems shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone near Bandar Abbas.<\/li>\n<li>The incident is part of Iran&#8217;s ongoing &#8216;Operation True Promise 4,&#8217; targeting perceived U.S. and Israeli adversaries.<\/li>\n<li>The downing of the drone escalates regional tensions between Iran and Western-aligned powers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>TEHRAN (Azat TV) \u2013<\/b> Iran announced Saturday that its air defense systems intercepted and downed multiple aerial threats, including a United States MQ-9 Reaper drone over the southern city of Bandar Abbas. The incident was reported as part of the 46th wave of Iran&#8217;s &#8220;Operation True Promise 4,&#8221; a broader military campaign targeting what it describes as &#8220;enemy targets&#8221; linked to the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n<h2>Iranian Air Defense Claims Successes<\/h2>\n<p>Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson, stated that Iran&#8217;s air defense units successfully intercepted several aerial threats. He specifically detailed the downing of two MQ-9 Reaper drones over Firuzabad and Bandar Abbas, and another aircraft over Tabriz. According to Zolfaghari, the total number of drones destroyed by Iran&#8217;s forces has now reached 112, encompassing various types including combat, reconnaissance, and suicide drones.<\/p>\n<h2>Missile and Drone Strikes Against Alleged Targets<\/h2>\n<p>The defensive actions were linked to offensive operations, with Zolfaghari asserting that Iran&#8217;s armed forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah, had conducted the 45th wave of &#8220;Operation True Promise 4.&#8221; This operation, he claimed, involved the launch of Kheibar-Shekan solid-fuel precision missiles and offensive drones toward infrastructure belonging to Israeli northern command units and locations reportedly occupied by U.S. forces. Targets cited included sites in Haifa, Caesarea, the settlements of Zariit and Shlomi, and the Holon military-industrial complex. Zolfaghari also claimed that U.S. facilities, such as Al Dhafra Air Base and Erbil Air Base, were targeted after warnings were issued to American forces to leave the region.<\/p>\n<h2>Escalation in Regional Confrontation<\/h2>\n<p>Following these claims, a 46th wave of &#8220;Operation True Promise 4&#8221; was reportedly launched, focusing on &#8220;centers and forces of the American and Zionist antagonists.&#8221; Zolfaghari alleged that this wave struck alleged locations of Israeli and American commanders, with seven sites in Tel Aviv, two in Rishon LeZion, and one in Shoham identified, alongside U.S. commander locations at Prince Sultan Air Base, Camp Victory, and Erbil base. The IRGC also showcased its drone capabilities in a large underground facility, displaying numerous unmanned aerial vehicles. Zolfaghari vowed that the campaign would continue, stating that &#8220;the doors of hell will not be closed until the destruction of the last child-killing criminal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The developments mark another potentially dangerous escalation in the ongoing confrontation between Iran, the United States, and Israel. Footage shared online purportedly shows the wreckage of the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down near Bandar Abbas.<\/p>\n<p><em>The repeated claims of successful strikes against U.S. and Israeli targets, coupled with the downing of advanced drones, signal a sustained effort by Iran to project military strength and challenge regional adversaries amidst a period of heightened geopolitical tension.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran&#8217;s air defense systems reportedly intercepted multiple aerial threats, including a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Bandar Abbas. This incident is part of a broader escalation in regional tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":-1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow5Nm1DA:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28582,18],"tags":[1252,51981,11421,51980,50122],"class_list":["post-48350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east","category-military","tag-air-defense","tag-bandar-abbas","tag-middle-east-tensions","tag-mq-9-reaper","tag-operation-true-promise-4"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/US-MQ-9-drone.jpg","_embedded":{"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":-1,"source_url":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/US-MQ-9-drone.jpg","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/azat.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}