Following the failure of American and Israeli forces to weaken Iran, the Americans are resorting to actions shameful to the laws of war.
The US struck fishing vessels in Hormuz near Lark Island and the port of Kergan, while a tanker exploded after striking a mine, despite claims that the Americans had cleared Hormuz.
Donald Trump contends that nations worldwide must pay for US operations in the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that oil prices will fall steeply once military hostilities with Iran conclude.
US drone strike targets 2 fishing vessels near Lark Island, IRGC: Tanker exploded after hitting mines in Hormuz
An American drone strike targeted two fishing boats near Lark Island and the port of Kergan, inflicting multiple casualties.
Concurrently, the IRGC Navy underscored that an oil tanker exploded after striking Iranian naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, a Pakistani source close to negotiations claimed that Washington, beyond sustaining military and economic pressure, has kept backchannels open with Tehran to pursue incremental understandings if a comprehensive agreement proves elusive.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia requested the postponement of the Oman summit on the Strait of Hormuz.
According to CNN, the US seeks to revive talks concerning Iran's nuclear program.
The Energy Minister of Oman stated: «The Strait of Hormuz will open. This state of affairs is likely temporary, and the surge in crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices is unsustainable. It is imperative to establish alternate export channels, whether via Oman or via Yemen».
The IRGC announced that an advanced MQ-1 drone was intercepted and destroyed over the Strait of Hormuz by the new aerospace defense system of the Revolutionary Guards, operating under the integrated national air defense network.
According to Tasnim, Iranian air defense formations have repeatedly intercepted and brought down numerous drones during recent hostilities.
Trump: The whole world must pay for US actions in Hormuz, Oil prices will drop like a stone
The US President asserted that countries across the globe must reimburse America for its operations in the Strait of Hormuz, predicting that crude oil prices will drop sharply once hostilities with Iran terminate.
Donald Trump stated: «I hope everyone recognizes that price hikes in the United States are the result of actions by Biden and his administration, not Trump. Even oil prices were higher under Biden than they are now, and we stopped Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Aside from a temporary oil price hike, prices are falling sharply, and as soon as the military clash with Iran ends, the price of oil will drop like a stone. And the end of this conflict is not far away».
«Oil is flowing through Hormuz», Trump posted on Twitter.
«The nations of the world that have done us no favors should, and ultimately will, repay the United States of America after this conflict concludes. We are doing this far more for others than for ourselves, as we have done for generations».
Iran National Security Council: Zero talks with US until Iranian preconditions are met
The Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, stated that contradictory messaging from the US President must not distract attention from the new realities surrounding crude oil and maritime straits, adding that negotiations remain excluded until Iran's conditions are fulfilled.
In a statement on his official X account, Mohsen Rezaei wrote:
«Do not be misled by the mixed messages of the US President, ranging from "no negotiations" to "we are ready to talk". The stakes surrounding oil and maritime straits have fundamentally transformed. Damage control will not prevent what is coming».
«Zero talks until Iran's conditions are met. Period!», he added.
The warning came hours after the American President posted on Truth Social that «Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and desperately», claiming he would «determine if the US chooses to engage», adding that «it is an idea to which we are open».
This message stood in sharp contrast to Trump's prior assertions.
In August, he wrote that «no talks or discussions are underway, nor are any planned, with the Islamic Republic of Iran», insisting that the naval blockade remained active while claiming that the Strait of Hormuz was «open and operational».
Tehran's doctrine maintains that diplomacy without concrete guarantees constitutes a trap.
Following Washington's abandonment of commitments undertaken under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, Iranian authorities stated that trust must be restored through practical steps rather than conflicting slogans from the White House.
Until those prerequisites are completely satisfied, Mohsen Rezaei affirmed, talks remain off the table, and damage-control rhetoric will not reverse the altered energy and naval balance.
IRGC: Downed American MQ-1 drone over Strait of Hormuz
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that an advanced American MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted and neutralized in airspace west of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a communique carried by Iranian news agency Tasnim, the military branch reported that the aerial asset was targeted on Monday, September 14, by an advanced surface-to-air defense network operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force under the control of the unified national air defense grid.
According to Iranian media reports, this marks the fourth MQ-1 drone brought down by Iran in recent days.
What transpired with the American F-35 Lightning II in Iran? Iranian air defenses secure tracking lock
Iranian air defenses confronted an American F-35 Lightning II on July 31, compelling the stealth fighter to abandon its operational sortie, an engagement illustrating the operational challenges posed by Tehran's reconstituted air defense apparatus.
The incident occurred during the same operational window in which Iranian units downed an American MQ-9 Reaper.
The encounter with the F-35 carries tactical significance because the platform is engineered to penetrate contested airspace via low-observable radar signatures, multi-spectral sensor fusion, and advanced electronic warfare suites.
Iranian media reported that ground air defense units achieved a target lock on the F-35 during the engagement.
Securing such a weapon-grade lock indicates that the radar network generated a fire-control solution capable of guiding an interceptor, rather than merely picking up intermittent radar returns.
Axios reported on August 31, citing American defense officials, that US Central Command (CENTCOM) expressed serious concern over Iran repairing and upgrading radar arrays, surface-to-air missile systems, and anti-ship cruise missile batteries, bolstering its operational capacity to target American warships in Hormuz.
How 2 MC-130J special operations aircraft were destroyed: Hollywood narrative versus battlefield reality
Two MC-130J Commando II special operations transport aircraft were identified and intercepted after penetrating deep into Iranian airspace during the 40-day conflict, sustaining severe damage during combat that forced them down onto an austere desert airstrip.
Now, the Americans are attempting to spin this operational setback through a Hollywood-style narrative.
American television network CBS, in an interview conducted with the pilot of an American F-15 fighter jet downed during an air mission over Iran, alongside senior US officials including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and the US Secretary of Defense, put forward assertions regarding the pilot's extraction operation from Iranian territory.
CBS claimed that an aircraft that landed on an improvised desert strip to rescue the second American aviator could not take off because its landing gear became mired in loose desert sand.
CBS further claimed that following the tactical evacuation of American personnel from the landing site by relief forces, the United States bombed the abandoned airframe to prevent sensitive avionics and technology from falling into Iranian custody.
What the IRGC asserts
In response to these accounts, the official media portal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah News) presented an account regarding the emergency landing of American aircraft on the Mahyar plain.
«Two MC-130J special operations aircraft were tracked and intercepted after flying deep into Iranian airspace and sustained critical damage during the engagement, damage that ultimately forced their emergency landing on a desert strip».
Concurrently, several MH-6 Little Bird special operations helicopters and utility airframes sustained battle damage and were rendered unairworthy.
Failing to recover this hardware, American units deliberately destroyed the disabled aircraft and helicopters to prevent classified wreckage and sensitive technological components from falling into Iranian hands.
Consequently, the claim that wheels merely «got stuck in the sand», which constitutes Washington's official cover story, is dismissed as a theatrical Hollywood performance aimed at placating American public opinion.
What American media broadcast, repeating phrases praising national resolve over twenty times, was intended to console a domestic audience fatigued by a costly and unpopular war.
Yet that narrative omits major details: the wounding of several American officers, the loss of two Hercules transports, multiple Little Birds, a UH-60 Black Hawk, an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet, and several MQ-9 and MQ-1 drones form an integral part of this engagement that American reports glossed over.
Furthermore, the downing of the F-15E Strike Eagle carrying callsign DUDE 44 remains central: «The real story is not a Hollywood survival drama, but the interception and shooting down of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet with serial number 00-3000 and callsign DUDE 44».
The aircraft belonged to the 494th Fighter Squadron of the 48th Fighter Wing, based at RAF Lakenheath in Britain, whose wreckage and unit insignia were later put on public display in Iran.
The intense media fixation on the crash, pilot endurance, and the search-and-rescue mission represents an attempt to divert news attention away from a stark battlefield reality:
One of America's primary strike fighters was brought down deep inside Iranian territory, and the combat search-and-rescue attempt culminated in the operational loss and destruction of multiple special operations transports, combat helicopters, and an additional combat aircraft.
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