Pars Today

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has roundly dismissed as a "big lie" American officials’ claims that US forces may have downed more than one Iranian drone over the Persian Gulf, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic has not lost any unmanned aerial vehicle.

“I, hereby, announce officially that no drone belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran has been shot down,” Major General Hossein Salami told reporters in the western Iranian city of Khorramabad on Wednesday afternoon.

He went on to say that an Iranian drone was on a reconnaissance mission in the skies over Persian Gulf waters for three hours and 40 minutes, underlining that the aircraft sent images and videos of regional and transregional vessels – some of which were broadcast to enlighten the Iranian and world public opinions.

Salami then challenged the US to offer convincing proof for its claim of shooting down the Iranian drown, saying, “Today, the world would not believe unsubstantiated remarks.”

“Enemies should present the Iranian-made parts of the drone and substantiate their claims. Otherwise, no one would believe their spurious allegations,” the top IRGC commander said.

“I state it unequivocally: This is a big lie and we have proved it false. Enemies should provide evidence for their claims, because we have validated what we have already done. They (enemies) should do the same,” he added.

The remarks came in reaction to remarks by a US general who claimed the US forces took action against a second Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz last week, but did not see the drone go into the water.

Iran defense minister rejects US claim of destroying Iranian drone

Meanwhile, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said no Iranian drone has been brought down.

“None of our drones has been shot down, and they are carrying out their regular missions. We showed the body of the [US] drone that we brought down. If anyone claims to have brought down our drone, prove it. No drone from the Islamic Republic of Iran has been brought down,” Hatami said.

On June 20, the IRGC shot down the advanced US-made RQ-4 Global Hawk over Iran’s territorial waters off the coastal province of Hormozgan after the unmanned aircraft breached the country’s airspace on a spying mission.

SS