Iran reports U.S. spy planes
Friday, February 18, 2005
TEHRAN Iran has said for the first time that pilotless U.S. spy planes were seen over its nuclear sites, and it has threatened to shoot them down if they came within close range.
.Information Minister Ali Yunessi said Wednesday that U.S. spying activities over Iranian airspace had been going on for a long time. "Most of the shining objects that our people see in Iran's airspace are American spying equipment used to spy on Iran's nuclear and military facilities," he said.
."If any of the bright objects come close, they will definitely meet our fire and will be shot down. We possess the necessary equipment to confront them."
.There were reports Wednesday of a loud explosion in southern Iran. Some news reports speculated that one of the drones had been attacked. One government official said the noise was a fuel tank falling off an airplane. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said the blast occurred during dam construction. Yet another government official said there was a large bang but no explosion.
.The various reports on the cause of the blast, or whether one even occurred, could not be reconciled.
.The government has declined to comment on a report Sunday in The Washington Post that U.S. drones have been flying over Iran for nearly a year. "The subject is related to the security and information apparatus," Hamid Reza Assefi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.
.The issue of the drones has come up at a time when the Iranian authorities are sensitive toward news about U.S. surveillance operations. A report last month in The New Yorker, which claimed that U.S. commandos had been operating inside Iran since last summer, was rejected by the authorities and called part of "psychological warfare against Iran."
.
Friday, February 18, 2005
TEHRAN Iran has said for the first time that pilotless U.S. spy planes were seen over its nuclear sites, and it has threatened to shoot them down if they came within close range.
.Information Minister Ali Yunessi said Wednesday that U.S. spying activities over Iranian airspace had been going on for a long time. "Most of the shining objects that our people see in Iran's airspace are American spying equipment used to spy on Iran's nuclear and military facilities," he said.
."If any of the bright objects come close, they will definitely meet our fire and will be shot down. We possess the necessary equipment to confront them."
.There were reports Wednesday of a loud explosion in southern Iran. Some news reports speculated that one of the drones had been attacked. One government official said the noise was a fuel tank falling off an airplane. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said the blast occurred during dam construction. Yet another government official said there was a large bang but no explosion.
.The various reports on the cause of the blast, or whether one even occurred, could not be reconciled.
.The government has declined to comment on a report Sunday in The Washington Post that U.S. drones have been flying over Iran for nearly a year. "The subject is related to the security and information apparatus," Hamid Reza Assefi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.
.The issue of the drones has come up at a time when the Iranian authorities are sensitive toward news about U.S. surveillance operations. A report last month in The New Yorker, which claimed that U.S. commandos had been operating inside Iran since last summer, was rejected by the authorities and called part of "psychological warfare against Iran."
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posted by allanon at 3:23 PM
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