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http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/15/wo ... dex.html?hpt=hp_bn4
It was reported a few days ago one of the US Drones crashed in Iran, now reports are out that it’s remote controls were intercepted by Iran and they landed the Drone safely…
So now it seems Iran has an intact version of one of our most important intelligence gathering tools.”
Iran has displayed an aircraft it said was a US spy drone brought down last week by an ”electronic ambush”, a feat that prompted boasts of Iranian technological prowess in the face of increased hostility from the West.
The Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment yesterday on whether the aircraft the Iranians displayed is real. A U.S. defense official, however, said the plane appears to be an actual RQ-170, though he said U.S. experts were still examining the video.
Two U.S. officials with knowledge of the RQ-170 program said that some details, including the seams on the drone’s fuselage, its access ports and its unusual air intake, appear to confirm that it’s genuine.
Iran has complained that the drone overflights represent an act of aggression and violation of its sovereignty, and summoned the Swiss envoy–who represents U.S. interests in Iran–on Thursday to lodge a protest.
However, while the images of the U.S. drone surely allowed Iran to score another public relations blow against Washington, Iran may find it tough to generate much in the way of international sympathy for being the target of U.S. surveillance.
Last week, Iranian hardliners ransacked the British embassy in Tehran, prompting the United Kingdom to recall its diplomatic staff from Tehran and order Iran’s embassy in London closed. Last month, the UN atomic watchdog agency issued a report raising concerns about research Iran is suspected by some nations to have conducted before 2003 on military aspects of its nuclear program. Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes. In October, the United States accused elements of Iran’s Qods force of plotting to assassinate the Saudi envoy to the United States. The United Nations General Assembly voted last month in favor of a resolution condemning the Iranian plot.
Amid its growing international isolation, Iran, unsurprisingly, seemed intent to play up the drone incident for all it could.
In Rian’s Mehr news they claim “China, Russia want to inspect downed U.S. drone,” |
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