Citing a source, journalist Amichai Stein (i24NEWS) reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launches 2–4 drones every night at US ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and that US forces intercept them. The report adds that the assessment is that the launches are meant to signal to Washington that Iran can block the strait again if matters escalate.
Tonight, journalist Amichai Stein (i24NEWS) reported, citing a source, that the IRGC has been launching 2–4 attack drones toward US Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz every night, and that US forces intercept or neutralize them before they reach their targets. The assessment, according to the source, is that the nightly launches are intended to signal to Washington that Tehran retains the capability to close the strait if the situation deteriorates. This report adds a new, quotable source to a thread The Zioneer has been tracking since Wednesday morning.
Earlier Wednesday, at 06:15 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported the first version of this thread: a source told i24NEWS that Iran had launched multiple drones toward vessels in the strait since signing the MOU with Washington on Sunday, all intercepted. By 06:15, a US official told NBC News that Iran launched drone barrages every night since Sunday; in subsequent updates, NBC confirmed the account, a senior US official said the launches targeted merchant ships, and The Zioneer published an article citing NBC's US source. Now, Stein's report specifies that the targets are US Navy warships — a detail that sharpens the operational picture, though it may reflect a slightly different portion of the nightly activity rather than a contradiction. Across the thread, the sourcing has evolved from a single channel to multiple newsrooms citing US officials, with Stein's source providing the first explicit reference to US Navy ships as targets.
This nightly drone activity sits within a broader pattern of confrontation in the strait that The Zioneer has covered for weeks: on June 5, the IRGC fired warning shots at US warships in the Gulf of Oman; on June 10, the IRGC threatened imminent retaliation after US strikes near the strait; and on June 11, the IRGC claimed to have hit 18 American military targets. The new reports indicate that low-level harassment has persisted even after the signing of the US-Iran MOU on Sunday.
The source cited by Stein did not specify whether the nightly launches have resulted in any damage or casualties. The thread's details on the number and type of drones, and whether the activity targets military or commercial vessels, continue to vary across reports.
8 developments
- DevelopingIRGC maintains continuous naval presence in Strait of Hormuz, satellite imagery suggests
- DevelopingIranian Guards Fire Warning Shots at US Warships in Gulf of Oman
- DevelopingUS shot down two Iranian drones after attempted strike on ships in Hormuz, Fox News reports
- ConfirmedIRGC threatens imminent retaliation after US strikes near Strait of Hormuz
Source and signal
- Internal intake