Iran's Fars News Agency reports that a U.S. MQM-170 drone was brought down intact west of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the IRGC Navy, its electronic warfare unit took over the drone's guidance and control systems and landed it, rather than shooting it out of the sky. If true, that would put a largely undamaged American aircraft in Iranian hands, which is exactly the kind of prize Tehran likes to show off. Iran also alleges the drone took off from the coast of a Gulf state on the southern shore of the waterway, a claim that, if confirmed, would raise serious diplomatic questions for that country.

All of this comes from Iranian sources, and no independent confirmation of the drone, the landing or the launch location was immediately available. The claim lands in the middle of a tense moment. Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed during the months-long regional war, and the IRGC has recently announced seizures of American underwater drones. Washington has rejected at least one of those earlier claims, calling it desperate, and said another vehicle had simply malfunctioned. The big questions now are whether Iran can show proof, how it says it hijacked the aircraft's controls, and whether the U.S. or the Gulf state Iran points to will respond.