Iran claims it intercepted three US drones over southern airspace amid rising tensions

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that its air defence systems intercepted three US drones in the country's southern airspace, amid reports of fresh American strikes on the strategic Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement late Monday, the IRGC identified two of the unmanned aerial vehicles as MQM-170 Outlaw drones, which it said were intercepted over Qeshm Island. The third, identified as an MQ-9 Reaper, was reportedly shot down in waters east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The claims came after The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that American forces had attacked Iran's strategic Qeshm Island on Monday.

The newspaper described the strikes as the latest in "a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against the country in recent weeks as President Trump touted the possibility of a diplomatic deal".

According to the report, the US has been carrying out smaller-scale strikes against Iran for several weeks. Explosions were reported on social media around Qeshm Island on Monday. Some US officials described the operations as defensive strikes aimed at preventing Iran from freely attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Unlike earlier in the conflict, Washington has not publicly announced the latest attacks. One US official told the newspaper that the administration had deliberately kept the operations under wraps to avoid signalling any intention of resuming large-scale military action.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he was "in no rush" to decide whether to resume military operations against Iran.

"One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it," Trump told Axios in a phone interview on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said diplomatic efforts had intensified but warned Washington against further military escalation.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Araghchi cautioned that any further US military action would invite a "far more bitter and severe" response from Tehran.

Meanwhile, several explosions were reported on Qeshm Island early Tuesday. The blasts, whose cause remains unknown, were also heard by residents of Hengam Island and the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

The latest developments come amid continuing tensions between Washington and Tehran, with military activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz raising concerns over regional security and commercial shipping.

(With IANS inputs)