Iran’s guards announced they were targeting US F-35 fighters

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on May 26 that its forces opened fire after detecting “hostile aircraft” entering airspace in the Persian Gulf area.

IRGC announced that it had shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This force also said it opened fire on an RQ-4 reconnaissance plane and an American F-35 stealth fighter, forcing them to maneuver out of Iranian airspace.

IRGC affirmed that Iran “has the legal and indisputable right” to respond to any action from the US that it considers a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Iran’s armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi warned on the same day that any new act of aggression against the country would face a “much more serious” reaction, even beyond the region.

Previously, the US military announced that it had conducted “self-defense” attacks against many targets in southern Iran overnight, including missile launchers and Iranian ships laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins said the series of raids were intended to protect soldiers against threats from Iranian forces. He added that CENTCOM maintained restraint while the ceasefire was in effect.

The fact that the two sides are continuously shooting at each other is raising doubts about the prospects for peace negotiations, as well as the ceasefire that has been in place since last month.

Samir Puri, a war researcher at Imperial College London, said the latest US air strikes and Iran’s subsequent shooting had created an “extremely precarious situation” for the negotiation process and challenged diplomats.

He said “fighting while talking” is common at the end of major conflicts, but it is important for the sides to continue dialogue and not let escalations cause the process to collapse. “We don’t know if this is the storm before the calm or the calm before the storm,” he said.

Puri evaluated the presence of Iranian officials in Qatar to participate in negotiations with the US as a positive sign, and expected regional countries to promote dialogue to limit the risk of escalation. However, he warned that the position gap between the US and Iran is still very large, causing the negotiation process to last for days, weeks or even months.