The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) says it shot down two attack drones launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday, and that no injuries or damage were caused, Al Jazeera reports.
It comes after the IRGC said it targeted a US early-warning radar in Bahrain in retaliation for what it described as an air attack on a telecommunications tower in southern Iran.
Reporting from the White House in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said neither the US nor the Iranian claims could be confirmed.
“We have what the IRGC are saying, while CENTCOM is saying there were two one-way attack drones shot down by the US as they headed towards Iran,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said the US has attacked telecommunications networks at military sites in southern Iran “from time to time”.
“Iran was not responding by attacking US military assets in the region, but now it is the first time they are doing so,” he said. “So the question is, will Iran continue to attack US military assets in neighbouring countries, which could lead to another wave of war?”
The IRGC’s claim came hours after Iran’s state news agency IRNA, citing official sources, reported that the port city of Sirik in Hormozgan province was hit by “enemy fire” on Thursday.
In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC called the strike a “serious warning” to the “aggressor enemy” to stop what it said was a series of aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz.
