‘American terrorist army’: Iran claims second US drone seized in Hormuz (Reuters file photo)
The operation targeted what Iranian military authorities described as the “second subsurface [submarine] of the American terrorist army” operating in the strategic waterway, according to a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB on Sunday. The IRGC said the operation was carried out through a “coordinated and complex operation” involving military intelligence and electronic warfare capabilities. “With the help of God Almighty, the IRGC navy soldiers, through a coordinated and complex operation with intelligence and electronic warfare, were able to trap an advanced UAV of the American terrorist army that was operating in the Strait of Hormuz for the purpose of espionage,” the statement read. IRIB said the captured vehicle had been handed over to specialist military technicians, who would analyse the system and recover its stored data. “The IRGC navy firmly declares that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and we are taking strong and relentless action against dangerous movements and unauthorised traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement added. Speaking to people gathered at an airport after his return from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian said, “We stand firm with strength, we are at the service of our people, we will stand until our last breath, and we promise that as long as we have life in our bodies, we will be honest servants to the people; you have put us to shame, I do not consider myself worthy of your presence, I am your servant.
Pezeshkian and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier travelled to the US for the UN gathering of world leaders, where Tehran proposed a seven-day roadmap aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on Sunday that Tehran would remain resolute, after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.