Iran Claims Downing US F-16, MQ-9 Drone Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Tehran, March 2026 : announced on Saturday that its air defence forces struck a US F-16 Fighting Falcon and an MQ-9 Reaper drone over southern Iranian airspace, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions. The IRGC said the strikes occurred during joint retaliatory missile and drone operations by its Navy and Aerospace Division targeting heavy industries linked to the United States and Israel, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The IRGC statement, published on its official Sepah News outlet, claimed that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) acknowledged that its F-16 was targeted. CENTCOM, in a post on social media platform X, said, “A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at a base in the Middle East after a combat flight in support of Operation Epic Fury.”

In addition to the aerial strikes, the IRGC said it destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone equipment depot in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, reportedly used to support US operations. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated that the warehouse housed 21 Ukrainians and contained systems designed to counter drones, and it was destroyed in a joint operation by the IRGC Air Force and Navy.

Ukraine, however, dismissed the claims as false. Heorhiy Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, called the report “a lie,” while a representative for Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told Interfax-Ukraine that the information “does not correspond to reality” and is “fake.”

The incident follows heightened regional tensions after joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran beginning on February 28. Iran and its regional allies retaliated with targeted strikes against US and Israeli interests across the Middle East, raising fears of further escalation.

The IRGC’s announcement underscores Tehran’s determination to project military strength while highlighting the deepening confrontation between Iran, the United States, and its allies, as both sides continue to conduct operations and counter-operations in the region.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)