Iranian warplanes last week attacked a U.S. Air Force Predator drone conducting routine maritime surveillance in international airspace over the Persian Gulf. The two jets, Iranian Su-25 fighters piloted by members of Iran’s elite revolutionary Guard Corps force, failed to hit the drone despite repeated passes. The incident, which elicited a formal protest from the United States, casts a spotlight on Iran’s systematic campaign to militarize strategic areas of the Persian Gulf and undermines already-battered hopes that Tehran may be amenable to diplomatic overtures from the United States. TIP’s analysis of the attack’s implications is here.