Iranian air defense shoots down third US drone over Strait of Hormuz, regime claims - report

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps shot down a US MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera. The incident is part of a series of events in the vital waterway, where vessels have come under repeated attack as Tehran seeks to maintain a stranglehold on the waterway in its war with the US.

The Strait of Hormuz has seen several incidents, including an attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker, ELGAIA, which caught fire after being hit. According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, the tanker was struck by an unknown projectile. Iran claims the tanker was hit by mines, while the US says it was struck by a missile and then a drone.

Oman is searching for two missing crew members from the ELGAIA, which is being towed to a port in Oman. The incident has raised concerns about the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, with Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizing the importance of reaching a comprehensive agreement to achieve sustainable peace in the region.

Brief written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post, Free Malaysia Today, The Peninsula Qatar, BBC World, Axios — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.