In a statement released on July 13, the Army said the hostile American drone was intercepted and destroyed by a surface-to-air missile system operated by the Air Force under Iran's integrated air defense network.
According to the statement, the drone was brought down after being successfully tracked and engaged by the Air Force's surface-to-air missile system over the port city of Bandar Abbas.
The downing follows another successful interception by Iran's air defense forces on Sunday, when the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that one of its newly deployed advanced air defense systems had destroyed a US cruise missile near Khorramabad.
The latest interception comes as Iran's Armed Forces continue a series of coordinated retaliatory operations in response to renewed US attacks on the country. In recent days, the IRGC has conducted retaliatory strikes on US bases and military assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and Oman.