TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps announced Monday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a U.S. MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington has been forced to return the retired aircraft to service after suffering heavy losses among its more advanced MQ-9 fleet.
In a statement, the IRGC’s Public Relations Office said the drone was engaged by a new advanced air defense system operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force and controlled by the country’s integrated air defense network.
The IRGC noted that the MQ-1, known as the “Butcher of Kandahar” after logging approximately 20,000 flight hours over Afghanistan, had been retired from the U.S. Navy and Air Force several years ago and replaced by the MQ-9. 
“Given the destruction of a large portion of America’s MQ-9s, it has been forced to use this drone again,” the statement said, adding that “both models are being extensively hunted by the IRGC’s new defense system.”
The announcement came one day after the Iranian Army said its indigenous air defense systems intercepted and destroyed an advanced Orbiter reconnaissance drone over the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday evening. 
The Army said the drone was targeted in the southeastern region of the country as part of the integrated air defense network.
The downings mark a continued escalation in the strategic waterway. Earlier, the IRGC Aerospace Force announced it had downed its 53rd U.S. MQ-9 drone since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran, intercepting the aircraft over Qeshm Island.
Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi on Saturday rejected as “false and ridiculous” a U.S. claim that CENTCOM forces had escorted over 1 billion barrels of oil through the strait in the past two months.
“The initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remains in the hands of Iran’s powerful armed forces,” Shekarchi said.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi warned Sunday that any new invasion would trigger “significant changes” in Iran’s defense and offense, adding: “We will definitely change the war’s geography.”