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Iran air defense says 370 enemy aircraft targeted in US-Israeli war

04 September 2026 17:10 (UTC +04:00)

Iran’s Army air defense forces targeted more than 370 aircraft during the recent US-Israeli aggression and shot down aircraft and drones, a senior commander says, crediting domestically developed systems which have strengthened the country’s ability to defend its airspace, Press TV reports.

Brigadier General Mohammad Sadeghian, deputy coordinator of the Army’s Air Defense Force, said Friday that Iran’s armed forces used the experience of the 12-day war to identify weaknesses and strengthen their defenses ahead of the second aggression that began on Feb. 28.

“By drawing on the valuable experiences of the 12-day war, properly identifying our strengths and addressing our weaknesses, Iran’s armed forces were able to plan for the war that began on Feb. 28 in such a way that more than 370 aircraft were targeted,” he said.

“Aircraft and drones were shot down, something that was unbelievable to them, because they believed that through their extensive attacks they had managed, on the first day of the war, to hit all of the country’s air-defense radars,” Sadeghian said.

Sadeghian recounted that an American MQ-9 strategic drone was hit in the waters of the Persian Gulf over the previous two days.

The statement follows an announcement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that its air-defense forces had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper over the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.

The IRGC said the drone was struck by missile fire from its modern air-defense units before crashing into the waters of the Persian Gulf.