TEHRAN: Iran’s defence minister confirmed yesterday a Pentagon claim that two Iranian fighter jets fired on an unarmed US Predator drone in the Gulf last week.
“Last week an anonymous plane entered the space over the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf area which, due to the timely, clever and decisive action of our armed forces, was forced to flee,” Ahmad Vahidi was quoted on Isna as saying. “This instance and others before show that the Islamic Republic of Iran has the needed vigilance to monitor all movements and takes decisive and timely actions.”
His comments came after the deputy chief of Iran’s armed forces, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, had implied the aerial shooting had taken place, quoted earlier yesterday by the the Revolutionary Guards’ website.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said on Tuesday the Iranian Su-25 Frogfoot fighters fired at the drone on November 1 but did not hit it. “They intercepted the aircraft and fired multiple rounds,” Little said. It was unclear whether the Iranians intended to warn off the unmanned drone but Little said: “Our working assumption is that they fired to take it down.”
Iran, UN nuclear agency to resume talks in December
VIENNA: Iran will return to talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency next month, the UN nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Friday, the latest push to seek a peaceful end to a dispute that has raised fears of a new Middle East war. The news came days after US President Barack Obama’s re-election, which some analysts say may give fresh impetus to efforts to end a decade-old standoff with a country the West accuses of working towards a nuclear weapons capability.
In a stark reminder of how tensions could escalate, the Pentagon said on Thursday that Iranian warplanes fired at an unarmed US drone in the Gulf last week.
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