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Iran has no intention to return U.S. drone
December 11, 2011 - 15:56 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran will not return a U.S. surveillance drone
captured by its armed forces, a senior commander of the country's
elite Revolutionary Guard said Sunday.
Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guard, said in remarks
broadcast on state television that the violation of Iran's airspace by
the U.S. drone was a "hostile act" and warned of a "bigger" response.
He did not elaborate on what Tehran might do.
"No one returns the symbol of aggression to the party that sought
secret and vital intelligence related to the national security of a
country," Salami said. Iranian television broadcast video Thursday,
December 8 of Iranian military officials inspecting what it identified
as the RQ-170 Sentinel drone.
Iranian state media have said the unmanned spy aircraft was detected
over the eastern town of Kashmar, some 140 miles (225 kilometers) from
the border with Afghanistan. U.S. officials have acknowledged losing
the drone.
Salami called its capture a victory for Iran and a defeat for the U.S.
in a complicated intelligence and technological battle.
"Iran is among the few countries that possesses the most modern
technology in the field of pilotless drones. The technology gap
between Iran and the U.S. is not much," he said.
Officers in the Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, had
previously claimed that the country's armed forces brought down the
surveillance aircraft with an electronic ambush, causing minimum
damage to the drone.
American officials have said that U.S. intelligence assessments
indicate that Iran neither shot the drone down, nor used electronic or
cybertechnology to force it from the sky. They contend the drone
malfunctioned. The officials had spoken anonymously in order to
discuss the classified program.
But Salami refused to provide more details of Iran's claim to have
captured the CIA-operated aircraft, AP reported.
December 11, 2011 - 15:56 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran will not return a U.S. surveillance drone
captured by its armed forces, a senior commander of the country's
elite Revolutionary Guard said Sunday.
Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Guard, said in remarks
broadcast on state television that the violation of Iran's airspace by
the U.S. drone was a "hostile act" and warned of a "bigger" response.
He did not elaborate on what Tehran might do.
"No one returns the symbol of aggression to the party that sought
secret and vital intelligence related to the national security of a
country," Salami said. Iranian television broadcast video Thursday,
December 8 of Iranian military officials inspecting what it identified
as the RQ-170 Sentinel drone.
Iranian state media have said the unmanned spy aircraft was detected
over the eastern town of Kashmar, some 140 miles (225 kilometers) from
the border with Afghanistan. U.S. officials have acknowledged losing
the drone.
Salami called its capture a victory for Iran and a defeat for the U.S.
in a complicated intelligence and technological battle.
"Iran is among the few countries that possesses the most modern
technology in the field of pilotless drones. The technology gap
between Iran and the U.S. is not much," he said.
Officers in the Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, had
previously claimed that the country's armed forces brought down the
surveillance aircraft with an electronic ambush, causing minimum
damage to the drone.
American officials have said that U.S. intelligence assessments
indicate that Iran neither shot the drone down, nor used electronic or
cybertechnology to force it from the sky. They contend the drone
malfunctioned. The officials had spoken anonymously in order to
discuss the classified program.
But Salami refused to provide more details of Iran's claim to have
captured the CIA-operated aircraft, AP reported.