Iran says its air defenses shot down an American drone over Bandar Abbas

Iran's army said on Sunday that its air defenses shot down an American drone over Bandar Abbas, the port city on the Strait of Hormuz. The claim came through the semi-official Tasnim news agency and was reported by Reuters. The drone was a LUCAS, a low cost American attack drone. The Iranian statement gave no word on wreckage, and the United States had not confirmed the claim as of October 25.

Picture is an illustration of the port of Bandar Abbas at dawn, with a drone in the sky above the harbor and air defense fire near it.

Bandar Abbas is Iran's main port on the strait, the waterway Iran has blocked since the war began on February 28. The United States answered the blockade by blocking Iranian ports and oil shipments, and the two sides have traded strikes over the strait for months.

The claim lands in a week when both sides talked openly about the war starting again. President Donald Trump has said he may launch another round of strikes against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, in his words another little Epic Fury. American and Israeli officers have drawn up plans to renew joint strikes in the coming weeks, according to Israeli sources who spoke to reporters. The White House said on Thursday that the United States will not resume attacks on Iran before the midterms.

On Friday, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned in a memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iran has stepped up its efforts to target American personnel, and that Iranian plots against American citizens have reached advanced stages. The State Department updated its travel advisories on Saturday for more than a dozen countries across the Gulf and the Middle East.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed Washington for the failure of an interim peace deal and urged the United States to return to negotiations. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is as prepared for diplomacy as it is for war.