U.S. Says It Struck Iranian Radar and Drone-Control Sites Near Strait of Hormuz in Late May and Shot Down Four Drones

U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces struck Iranian coastal radar and drone-control sites at Goruk in Hormozgan province and on Qeshm Island, and later in the week said it shot down four Iranian drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz. The claims, reported by The Associated Press and other outlets citing CENTCOM statements, point to military action around one of the world’s most important oil-shipping chokepoints during a fragile ceasefire period.

CENTCOM said the earlier strikes, reported as occurring over the May 30-31 weekend, were a measured act of self-defense taken “to defend against further attacks.” According to CENTCOM, U.S. fighter aircraft destroyed Iranian air-defense systems, an Iranian ground-control station for drones and two one-way attack drones in the Goruk and Qeshm strikes. There was no independently verified casualty count or on-the-ground damage assessment available in the reporting cited here.

The U.S. military linked those strikes to Iran’s earlier downing of a U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone. But the basic question of where that drone was operating remains contested. Iranian state media, including Press TV, quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying: “The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) air defense units have detected and successfully shot down an intruding MQ‑1 Predator drone belonging to the ‘aggressor US military’, shortly after it encroached upon Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.” U.S. officials and CENTCOM, as reported by U.S. and international media, said the MQ-1 was over international waters when it was shot down. There is no independent public confirmation resolving that dispute.

Separately, in reporting carried by AP on June 5-6, CENTCOM said U.S. forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz. “The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” CENTCOM said, according to AP. CENTCOM did not provide an independently verified public accounting of where the drones were launched from or what damage they might have caused if they had reached their targets.

The geography helps explain why the sites named by CENTCOM matter. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast and one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints. Qeshm Island sits in the strait, while Goruk is on Iran’s southern coast in Hormozgan province. Radar and drone sites in those locations can be important for maritime surveillance and for launching or directing attacks near the shipping lane.

CENTCOM, the U.S. military command responsible for operations in the Middle East, issued its summary of the Goruk and Qeshm strikes around May 31 or June 1, according to public reporting. The incidents unfolded as a ceasefire that took effect in early April 2026 remained in place but appeared uncertain, with negotiators reported to be in talks in late May about extending it. Beyond CENTCOM’s statements and the competing U.S. and Iranian accounts of the MQ-1 shootdown, no independent public reporting cited here confirmed the damage at the Iranian sites or resolved the dispute over the drone’s location when it was downed.