Iran says it shot down unmanned US spy plane

Iran’s armed forces have shot down an unmanned US spy plane that violated Iranian airspace along the country’s eastern border, the official IRNA news agency reported yesterday.

An unidentified military official quoted in the report warned of a strong and crushing response to any violations of the country’s airspace by American drone aircraft.

“An advanced RQ-170 unmanned American spy plane was shot down by Iran’s armed forces. It suffered minor damage and is now in possession of Iran’s armed forces,” IRNA quoted the official as saying.

No further details were published.

Iran is locked in a dispute over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

The type of aircraft Iran says it downed, an RQ-170 Sentinel, is an unarmed drone made by Lockheed Martin and was reportedly used to keep watch on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan while the raid in which he was killed was taking place earlier this year.

Iran said in January that two pilotless spy planes it had shot down over its airspace were operated by the United States and offered to put them on public display. In July, Iranian military officials showed Russian experts several US drones they said were shot down in recent years.

Iran publicly confirmed for the first time in February 2005 that the United States has been flying surveillance drones over its airspace to spy on its nuclear and military facilities.

The Islamic Republic holds frequent military drills, primarily to assert an ability to defend against a potential US or Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.