The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced that its aerospace force shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz using a “modern and advanced” air defense system.

The Iraqi government has rejected reports claiming US aircraft had landed at Ain al-Asad Air Base in the country's western Anbar Province.

The US military's hasty withdrawal from Erbil, officially framed as a scheduled redeployment, was actually driven by Iranian precision strikes that destroyed Patriot air-defense systems there – as confirmed by satellite imagery – exposing the vulnerability of advanced US defenses to low-cost drones and forcing a strategic retreat that marks a victory for Iranian deterrence.

The acting defense minister says Iran will neither be caught off guard nor stand idly by amid repeated threats by the United States to escalate its illegal aerial assaults against the nation.

The MoU involved the US lifting its naval blockade and easing restrictions on Iranian oil exports, in exchange for Iran maintaining commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. However, within weeks, the US reinstated sanctions and launched military strikes, leading to renewed tensions.

Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of declared attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure after Tehran warned that any aggression would trigger a decisive response.

The Foreign Ministry has vowed that Iran will use all means at its disposal to exercise its inherent right of self-defense in the face of the United States’ ongoing violations against the country.