Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say
US officials confirmed the incidents, but details on location and drone variant remain unconfirmed.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say
Photograph: Jerusalem Post (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Iranian forces have shot down at least two US MQ-1 unmanned aircraft, according to US officials.
- The specific variant of the downed drones and the location of the incidents are not confirmed.
- The cost of MQ-1 variants varies significantly, from $4 million for older models to tens of millions for newer ones.
- Iran's state broadcaster previously claimed to have downed a drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 11 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
45/100
Hype
41/100
11 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
US officials have stated that Iranian forces have shot down at least two American MQ-1 unmanned aircraft in recent days. The specific variant of the drones and the locations where they were downed have not yet been confirmed. The cost of these drones varies, with older MQ-1 variants costing around $4 million and newer Gray Eagle variants valued at tens of millions of dollars each. This report follows claims by Iran's state broadcaster that it had shot down an MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Disagreement on drone variant and location
US officials told CBS News that it is not yet clear where the drones were shot down, nor which MQ-1 variants were involved. The Jerusalem Post report, also citing US officials, stated that the specific variant and location were unconfirmed. No other reports provided further details on these specific points.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned the Congressional Budget Office report cited by the Jerusalem Post, which detailed US military losses of $720 million from MQ-9 Reaper drones and $150 million from an MQ-4C Triton. No left-rated outlet ran this story at all.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 17 Sept 2026, 19:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports led with the confirmation of the drone downings by US officials. The Jerusalem Post, in its full report, highlighted the potential monetary losses for the US, noting the cost difference between older and newer MQ-1 variants. It also mentioned previous claims by Iran's state broadcaster and Al Jazeera regarding a drone incident over the Strait of Hormuz. Political Wire and CBS News digests also reported the core fact of at least two US drones being shot down by Iran, citing US officials.
Right
4 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on the number of drones downed and attributed the action to Iran. Mehr News Agency's digest stated that "US Admits Iran Shot Down Two MQ1 Drones." Similarly, [your]NEWS's digest reported that "Iran Downs at Least Two U.S. Drones as American Aircraft Losses Mount." Aftenposten's digest also reported that "Iran has shot down at least two long-range American drones in recent days, US officials told CBS News."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 43% are rated centre, 57% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 11. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say biased?
- Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say is one event reported by 11 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Iran shoots down at least two US drones, officials say?
- 11 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many US drones did Iran shoot down?
- US officials have confirmed that Iranian forces shot down at least two American MQ-1 unmanned aircraft in recent days. Details regarding the exact number and specific circumstances remain unconfirmed by official sources.
- Where were the drones shot down?
- The specific locations where the US MQ-1 drones were shot down by Iranian forces have not yet been confirmed. This detail remains unclear according to US officials familiar with the matter.
- What kind of drones were shot down?
- US officials have not confirmed the specific variants of the MQ-1 drones that were shot down by Iran. The cost of these drones varies significantly, with older models costing around $4 million and newer ones tens of millions of dollars.
Read it at the source
11 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- Iran recently shot down at least two MQ-1 American military drones, US officials say (opens Jerusalem Post in a new tab)
Jerusalem Post — is Jerusalem Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Iran Downed at Least 2 American Drones (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Iran downed at least 2 unmanned American aircraft in recent days, U.S. officials say (opens CBS News in a new tab)
Right
4- US Admits Iran Shot Down Two MQ1 Drones (opens Mehr News Agency in a new tab)
Mehr News Agency — is Mehr News Agency biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Iran Downs at Least Two U.S. Drones as American Aircraft Losses Mount (opens [your]NEWS in a new tab)
[your]NEWS — is [your]NEWS biased? Our profile of this outlet
- CBS: Iran Shoots Down Two US Drones (opens Aftenposten in a new tab)
Aftenposten — is Aftenposten biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Iran Took Down Two U.S. Military Planes, Says TV (opens Globo in a new tab)
Not rated
4- US Media: At Least Two US MQ-1 Drones Were Shot Down in Iranian Attacks. (opens Haberler in a new tab)
- Iran downed at least 2 unmanned American aircraft in recent days, US officials say (opens Crypto Briefing in a new tab)
Crypto Briefing — is Crypto Briefing biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Iran downed at least 2 unmanned American aircraft in recent days, US officials say (opens Cryptocurrency News in a new tab)
Cryptocurrency News — is Cryptocurrency News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Iran Shoots Down Two US Drones (opens Nettavisen in a new tab)
Nettavisen — is Nettavisen biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
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