Iran Shots Down Spy Drone Near Western Border
KABUL: (Middle East Press) The Iranian Air Defense Units had shot down a reconnaissance spy drone in the western parts of the country near the border with Iraq, Iran’s officials said Saturday.
“The air defense missiles intercepted the drone after tracing it on radar screens,” the Persian service of the Islamic republic news agency quoted Commander of Kermanshah Air Defense Colonel Farzad Fereidouni.
He added, the unmanned aircraft was shot down in recent days after it “confronted” the air defense missile system.
However, he did not say which country the drone belonged to, or give specifics on the timing.
In August 2014, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force shot down an Israeli Hermes drone before it could reach Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, in Central Iran.
The IRGC also pointed out in its statement that the hostile aircraft had been targeted by a surface-to-air missile.
A statement released by the IRGC’s Public Relations Department then said the Israeli pilotless aircraft was a radar-evading, stealth drone with the mission to spy on Iran’s enrichment activities by flying over Natanz nuclear enrichment plant.
It also noted that the IRGC alongside other Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic is fully and resolutely ready to defend the noble Iranian nation and Islamic Iran.
Iran has claimed to have captured several US drones in recent years, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three Boeing-designed ScanEagle aircraft.
