Iran activates air defences, downs US drone over Bushehr: reports
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Tehran: Iran’s air defences were activated on Thursday night in the southern province of Bushehr, with Iranian media reporting that an “invading” US drone was destroyed.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a military source saying missiles were fired to intercept a US drone near Bushehr. The semi-official Fars news agency said Iran’s armed forces launched missiles from the country’s southern regions at unspecified targets, and local sources suggested there may have been clashes in the Gulf, Xinhua reported.
Mehr news agency reported that Iranian forces also fired warning shots at four vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after the vessels attempted to transit without coordinating with Iranian authorities.
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian outlets reported three explosions east of the port city of Bandar Abbas. Multiple US media organisations later said the US military conducted overnight strikes in Iran, targeting a site Washington said posed a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck a US air base on Thursday morning in response to the attacks on Bandar Abbas.
Separately, Tasnim reported that during recent negotiations with the United States over ending the conflict, Iran demanded the release of frozen assets totalling $24 billion.
Iran, the US and Israel agreed a ceasefire on 8 April after 40 days of fighting. Delegations from Iran and the United States met in Islamabad on 11–12 April for follow-up talks that did not produce an agreement. In the weeks since, both sides have reportedly exchanged draft proposals via Pakistani mediation on conditions for a lasting end to hostilities.
(Inputs from IANS)