Departures
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IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi mocked CENTCOM chief Cooper after Iranian air defenses brought down multiple US reconnaissance and combat drones over Qeshm Island and the Strait of Hormuz.
TEHRAN, Saturday (7/11/2026), Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi mocked the head of US Central Command over the repeated downing of American unmanned aerial vehicles by Iranian forces.
The response followed recent interceptions by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which brought down several American unmanned systems over Iranian territory and maritime borders. The downed aircraft included MQ-1, MQ-9, and MQM-170 reconnaissance drones near Qeshm Island and the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday night, the IRGC announced that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed the 16th US MQ-1 reconnaissance and combat drone over Qeshm Island under the national integrated air defense network. Electronic warfare systems also brought down two US-made MQM-170 reconnaissance drones in the same sector, increasing the tally of intercepted MQM-170 drones over Qeshm to six.
In a separate statement, the IRGC reported that its air defense forces destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over the eastern Strait of Hormuz. The strike marked the 55th US drone of that model brought down by Iranian air defenses.
Mohebbi posted his remarks on his X account in response to a podcast recording by CENTCOM Commander Cooper. "It would be better to put it this way: In this episode of the CENTCOM podcast, I will explain how we turned our own ultra-advanced, multimillion-dollar MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones into suicide drones!" said Mohebbi.
The IRGC attributed the string of successful interceptions to its intelligence superiority and persistent tracking of US flight movements. Aerial confrontations involving unmanned systems remain frequent in the region, mirroring past incidents where Iran downed MQ-9 drones amid expanded US military drone deployments and shifts in modern drone warfare.
The IRGC noted that its air defense and electronic warfare units continue active surveillance over all foreign reconnaissance patterns across the Persian Gulf corridor.
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