Iran’s big claim amid continuous US attacks, IRGC said – ‘We have destroyed American MQ-9 drone…’

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has made a big claim on Sunday (July 19, 2026) amid increasing conflict and tension with America once again in the Middle East. The IRGC has claimed that it has intercepted and shot down an American MQ-9 drone in Ahwaz, a city in the Khuzestan region bordering Iraq. IRGC has shared this information through Iranian government media.

This claim has been made by Iran at a time when America’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has carried out major military operations targeting many Iranian targets. This attack is part of a continuous operation by the US military over the last eight nights against facilities supporting Tehran in Iranian territory.

IRGC Downs US MQ-9 Drone Over Ahvaz

Iran’s IRGC shot down a US MQ-9 drone hours earlier using fire from a new advanced air defense system of the IRGC Aerospace Force in the skies over Ahvaz. pic.twitter.com/2Q4SaKRTFi

— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) July 19, 2026

How powerful is America’s MQ-9 drone??

According to the information shared by the US Air Force about the drone, MQ-9 is a very large, remote-controlled Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which is mainly designed for missions like intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and carrying out air strikes.

What did Centcom say after the attack on Iranian targets??

According to the statement issued by Centcom on the The statement said, ‘US Central Command (CENTCOM) has once again carried out strikes against Iran at 11:30 pm ET on Saturday (July 18), following the instructions of the Commander in Chief (US President Donald Trump).’

https://t.co/K11184scG0

— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 19, 2026

CENTCOM further said, ‘US President donald trump These US-authorized military strikes were designed to further reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, in which US forces successfully targeted several strategically important Iranian targets. The main objective behind these attacks was to completely weaken the strength and capabilities of Iran’s army.

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