Iran Says It Captured US Drone

Posted December 4th, 2012 at 7:05 am (UTC-5)
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A U.S. Navy spokesman says no American drones are missing in the Middle East, after Iran state media said the country has “captured” an American drone that entered Iranian airspace over Persian Gulf waters.

The Navy spokesman said Tuesday all drones in the region are “fully accounted for.”

Media reports in Iran said an unmanned ScanEagle drone was captured by the naval unit of the Revolutionary Guards as it was patrolling and gathering information. The reports do not elaborate on where or how the drone was captured.

Last month, Iran confirmed a Pentagon report that two Iranian warplanes fired on an unarmed U.S. drone in the Gulf.

The Iranian Students' News Organization quoted Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying that Iran's armed forces took action against an anonymous plane that entered the country's airspace.

The report countered the Pentagon's contention that the U.S. aircraft was over international waters. It said an unmanned Predator drone was on a surveillance mission on November 1 when the Iranian military fired at and missed the drone.

Though the U.S. routinely conducts surveillance missions over to Iran to check on nuclear facilities and other sites, the Pentagon says the November incident was the first time Iran had fired on one of its drones.