Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on the morning of June 20 claiming that it had shot down an American drone over Iranian territory. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the incident shortly thereafter, but disputed Tehran's assertions about its location when struck by an Iranian surface-to air-missile.

The IRGC's media team issued the statement, announcing that a Global Hawk drone had been shot down near Hormozgan province, in the south near the Gulf of Oman, opposite the Mobarak Mountains. Also, according to the statement, the drone had been launched from a US airbase in the Persian Gulf and was flying from the Strait of Hormuz toward the Iranian port city of Chabahar. The IRGC said the drone was collecting information, spying on Iran, when it was shot down in Iranian airspace.

Navy Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM spokesman, issued a statement disputing the IRGC’s claims, asserting, “[The drone was] shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.” The statement further read, “This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset.” 

With these dueling narratives, it will be difficult to ascertain the truth. The debris from the Global Hawk, which can fly at a maximum altitude of 60,000 feet, could be scatter far from the point of impact by the missile, making it hard to pinpoint where it was hit. An article about the Iranian air defense system published by Tasnim News, which is linked to the IRGC, said that the drone had landed in a region “which belongs to Iranian waters.”