Iran retaliates for deadly US strike (VIDEOS)

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid the renewed exchange of strikes between Tehran and Washington.

IRGC air defenses hit the “long-range American MQ-9 drone,” causing it to crash into the waters of the Persian Gulf, Iranian media reported, citing a Guard statement.

The US has yet to confirm the loss. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the US military had lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reapers during the war with Iran, although not all were shot down. The aircraft can cost between $30 million and $50 million each, depending on its sensors and weapons.

Iran is “not looking for war” but will not “sit still in the face of any aggression,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said in his first public comments since the US strike on Larak Island.

“We will give a decisive response to the aggressors,” Pezeshkian said before departing for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.

“Instability and unrest in the region are not in the interest of any country and will challenge everyone,” he added, according to Fars news agency.

US President Donald Trump has yet to publicly comment on the US strike on Iran’s Larak Island, but has posted an AI-generated video depicting a different Iranian island being “blown to smithereens.”

The clip, shared on Trump’s Truth Social account, purported to show explosions across Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil export hub.

There has been no official confirmation of any US attack on Kharg, and the footage is obvious AI slop. Trump followed it with another similar AI-generated clip posted without any caption.

US Central Command has yet to issue a formal press release on the exchange of strikes, but published a “fact check” on X rejecting the IRGC’s description of the attack on Larak Island as an “act of aggression.”

“US forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said, asserting that Iran had “created the threat” and the US military had eliminated it to protect civilian shipping and global commerce.

The post presented the alleged Iranian minelaying operation as fact, but did not provide visual evidence or further details supporting the claim.

Jordanian air defenses intercepted eight missiles that entered the kingdom’s airspace early Monday, the armed forces said. The statement did not mention Iran, despite the IRGC having already claimed responsibility for missile and drone strikes against US military facilities in Jordan.

“The Jordanian Armed Forces dealt with these attacks and successfully destroyed the missiles before they could pose any threat to citizens or property,” a military spokesman said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has released footage allegedly showing ballistic missiles being launched toward US technical and maintenance infrastructure, as well as fighter-jet positions, at the King Hussein and Al-Azraq air bases, according to Press TV.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it launched a combined missile and drone attack on US military facilities in Jordan in retaliation for the strike on Larak Island.

The operation, dubbed “Punishment of the Aggressor,” targeted the King Hussein and Al-Azraq bases, destroying “technical and repair infrastructure” as well as hangars and sites where enemy fighter jets were stationed, the IRGC claimed.

“Aggression and crimes will not solve the enemy’s desperation in attempting to weaken the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, and every attack will be met with even more devastating responses,” the statement said.

Former presidential counterterrorism adviser Joe Kent has warned that the latest US strike risks triggering a new cycle of escalation, calling for American troops to be withdrawn from the region.

“If Iran gets lucky & kills U.S. troops we will be sucked back into the war on Iran’s terms,” Kent wrote on X. “Troops out. Limit risk. Focus on economic pressure & diplomacy.”

The warning comes just days after Kent told Tucker Carlson that continued escalation with Iran could ultimately leave Washington facing a choice between a full-scale ground invasion and the use of nuclear weapons.

READ MORE: US could nuke Iran amid deadlock – ex-counterterrorism adviser

Nearly all incoming Iranian missiles targeting US forces in Jordan have been intercepted so far, Fox News reports citing an anonymous US source. No significant impacts have been reported, the source added.

Iranian forces reportedly launched missiles at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to multiple OSINT accounts.

Footage circulating online appears to show Patriot air-defense systems intercepting numerous incoming missiles over Jordan.

The base has previously come under Iranian attack, including a July strike that resulted in publicly acknowledged US military casualties.