The Iran nuclear program's Arak heavy water reactor. Photo: Nanking2012/Wikimedia Commons.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed on Sunday to have shot down an Israeli spy drone near the country’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility in Central Iran, semi-official state news agency Fars reported.

“A pilotless Israeli spy plane was shot down after it was traced and intercepted by the IRGC Aerospace Force,” a statement from the IRGC’s Public Relations Department said. “This mischievous attempt once again made the adventurous nature of the Zionist regime more evident and added another black page to the dark record of this fake and warmongering regime, which is full of crimes and wickedness.”

The IRGC also reportedly warned that it “preserves the right of reaction and retaliation for itself,” Fars noted.

According to the statement, Iran targeted the Israeli radar-evading drone with a ground-to-air missile before it was able to reach the uranium enrichment plant, which is more than 185 miles south of  Tehran. The Israeli UAV was sent to spy on Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities, IRGC alleged.