Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on May 31 that it used a new air-defense system to shoot down a U.S. MQ-1 over the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command confirmed the MQ-1 loss but denied that an F-35 was involved. An earlier Iranian state-media report placed the incident over Bandar Abbas, a major naval and port hub, indicating a discrepancy in reported location. U.S. forces later launched retaliatory strikes against Iranian air-defense systems and other military assets. Market pricing also pointed to a higher probability of Iran imposing a full airspace closure by December 31, although the disputed accounts and absence of confirmation on some details limited immediate market reactions.