The IRGC announces the destruction of another MQ-1 and the intact capture of an American surveillance drone, as military officials detail more than 20 successful operations against U.S. warships.

TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday its air defenses had destroyed an advanced MQ-1 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the total number of U.S. MQ-1 and MQ-9 aircraft downed since the war began in February to 68, while the IRGC Navy separately announced it had seized an American MQM-170 spy drone intact in the western approaches to the waterway.

The IRGC said the MQ-1 was intercepted and destroyed in the early hours of Thursday by the Aerospace Force's new air-defense system operating under Iran's integrated air-defense network, in the skies east of the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Sirik in Hormozgan province.

It was the 14th MQ-1 downed since the conflict began, according to the force.

"The system operates under the control of the country's integrated air-defense network" and targets drones as "valuable reconnaissance and combat assets of the United States," the IRGC said.

"The importance of this achievement lies not only in the number of aircraft destroyed, but also in the capability to detect, track and destroy advanced targets under real combat conditions."

The IRGC attributed the capability to years of domestic development of Iranian air-defense systems, noting that the drones carry "advanced surveillance equipment, thermal cameras, satellite communications and long-endurance flight capabilities," making them important to U.S. military intelligence and operational missions.

The combined tally of 68 comprises 54 MQ-9 Reapers and 14 MQ-1s. The U.S. Air Force retired its MQ-1 Predator fleet in 2018, shifting to the more advanced MQ-9 Reaper.

Military analysts have assessed that with Iran's armed forces inflicting significant losses on the MQ-9 fleet during the war, Washington has been forced to return older MQ-1 drones to service to sustain aerial surveillance and reconnaissance operations, with the Predator's lower cost making it more expendable than the Reaper.

On September 21, the IRGC announced it had shot down an MQ-1 over the Strait of Hormuz, and on October 20 it announced the destruction of a 54th MQ-9 Reaper.

In a separate statement on Thursday, the IRGC Navy's public relations office said its electronic warfare unit had successfully carried out an offensive electronic warfare operation, identifying an American MQM-170 spy and decoy drone before taking control of its guidance and navigation systems and bringing it to the ground intact west of the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement said the drone's mission was to identify Iran's air defense systems along the Persian Gulf coastline and the Strait of Hormuz. According to the IRGC Navy, data retrieved from the aircraft indicated it had taken off from the coast of one of the southern Persian Gulf littoral states.

Iran's Army Navy also reported Friday that it had destroyed an enemy unmanned vessel operating in the eastern Strait of Hormuz.

Separately, Rear Admiral Jalil Moghadam, the Iranian Army Navy's deputy coordinator, told IRNA in an interview published Thursday that Iranian naval forces have carried out more than successful 20 operations against U.S. warships during the 40-day war, and approximately 300 additional operations targeting American interests through missile and drone strikes.

Moghadam said Iranian forces identified the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during the opening days of the war and targeted it with a strategic cruise missile, after which the carrier suspended flight operations for three days before moving away from Iran's coast.

“After our operation, the carrier did not launch or fly any aircraft for three days, and then it moved away from our shores,” Moghadam said.

He added that the carrier requested assistance from a coastal country on the day or night following the attack, reporting that it had injured personnel. Iranian assessments also pointed to damage beyond what would normally be expected from a fire.

“Images released from the damaged area showed tears in the hull and structural deformation, which, in our assessment, indicated a missile strike,” he said.

He also described a combined operation involving drones, cruise missiles and electronic warfare against a U.S. destroyer identified as DDG-103 after it harassed Iranian commercial and oil tankers.

He rejected U.S. claims that Iran's naval forces had been destroyed, asking why American and Israeli forces have refrained from approaching closer than 500 to 600 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz during the war.

"If Iran's Navy has been destroyed, the question is why these forces have not come closer," he said.

The incidents come amid growing signs of a possible new round of U.S. and Israeli terrorist military action against Iran.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the Army's deputy chief and coordinator, said Thursday that Iran thwarted enemy attempts to defeat the Islamic Republic in three wars and will not surrender in the face of any new aggression, warning that adversaries have repeatedly miscalculated Iran's military capabilities and the resolve of its people.

"War is a war of will and resilience. We stand against the enemy and will not surrender. Surrender does not exist in the vocabulary of our nation."