IRGC Aerospace Force downs US spying balloon over northern Iraq: Report
The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has shot down a US military surveillance balloon over Erbil in northern Iraq as part of efforts to dismantle Washington’s spying capabilities in the region.
The surveillance balloon was “targeted and destroyed” in recent days in line with a broader strategy aimed at eliminating US reconnaissance and early-warning systems across the region, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
Unlike conventional perceptions of balloons in flight, it said, the system remains fixed at a specific point in the sky, operating much like an aerial watchtower.
The balloon was said to be 35 meters long and capable of carrying up to 500 kilograms of various payloads. While no exact figure has been officially disclosed for its operational altitude, some sources put it at around 750 meters.
According to the report, the system can operate 24 hours a day and remain airborne for one month.
It noted that the balloon can be equipped with a wide range of other systems, including electronic eavesdropping, communication relay, and electronic warfare.
However, assessments of its deployment over Erbil suggested that its primary function was “aerial reconnaissance and surveillance”.
The report said the destruction of the balloon in northern Iraq should not be viewed as a merely tactical operation, but rather as part of a broader strategy pursued by Iran’s armed forces, including the IRGC, to clear regional airspace of reconnaissance and early-warning assets.
Iran and the United States exchanged attacks earlier this week, marking the first direct military confrontation between the two sides in more than a month.
On Monday, US armed forces attacked Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, martyring three people.
On Tuesday, US missile strikes hit three locations near Ahvaz and Aghajari in Khuzestan Province, martyring seven people and wounding eight others, according to Khuzestan provincial officials.
On the same day, US forces struck a residential building in Kuhestak in Hormozgan Province while a wedding reception was taking place, martyring at least five people and wounding 68 others, including women and children.
In response to the attacks, Iran’s armed forces launched a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes against US military positions in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
In a statement on Saturday, the IRGC Aerospace Force launched several ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and an American destroyer participating in Washington’s illegal naval blockade against the Islamic Republic, forcing the vessels to flee.
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