Prateek Tanmay
Even though US President Donald Trump’s administration has claimed that the American military has “demolished” Iranian infrastructure since the war began in February, Tehran is continuing to strike hard. It has reportedly damaged at least three US bases in the Middle East since the hostilities resumed in July.
The US military’s bases in Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan have sustained damage from Iranian missile and drone strikes. Along with these, a former United Nations base camp and an industrial area in Kuwait have also been hit by the Iranian military, ABC News reported.
⚡️#BREAKING Iran claims to have shot down an American MQ9 Reaper drone pic.twitter.com/qkYP5VYNmY
— Global News Monitor (@GlobalNewsMontr) July 19, 2026
Asymmetric air defence challenges legacy Reaper drones
Iran has downed nearly 30 US MQ-9 Reaper drones since the war with America started in February, a US official had said in the first week of July. The Reaper drones entered the US Air Force service in 2007 and have been a prominent asset for America’s counterterrorism operations in the Middle East and other conflict zones like Afghanistan and Iraq.
Iranian army’s air defense unit shoots down US terrorist military’s LUCAS drone in south
Follow: pic.twitter.com/nn7Aje7dRt
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) July 19, 2026
US’ Reaper drones, which were designed to function in the surroundings where America had an upper hand over air dominance, have received a jolt from Tehran.
A US MQ-9 drone was shot down over the western Iranian city of Dehloran.🇮🇷🇮🇷 pic.twitter.com/frZn38JzrF
— Ebrahim zulfaghari (@Zaidi1101469802) July 19, 2026
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed that its military shot down a US MQ-9 drone in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. The IRGC added that the drone was downed when it was “conducting reconnaissance and surveillance of the operational areas of the south”.
Interceptions and deployment of low-cost uncrewed systems
According to Tehran’s IRNA news agency, the Iranian military also successfully intercepted a US cruise missile in the western region of the country. The report added that Iranian forces’ naval air defence systems intercepted and downed an American LUCAS drone in southern Iran.
US military had started using Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones in Iran earlier this year when the war broke out, Al Jazeera reported.
Casualties in Jordan mark a severe escalation threshold
The Iranian ballistic missile attack on an airbase in Jordan on Friday killed at least 2 US service members and injured several others. It was the first time that US troops were killed since the hostilities resumed around two weeks ago.
