Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A U.S. Navy spokesman says no American drones are missing in the Middle East following Iranian claims it had captured an unmanned American surveillance aircraft, AP reported on Tuesday.

Cmdr. Jason Salata, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, says all U.S. drones in the region are "fully accounted for."

He also cast doubt on Iranian claims that the U.S. ScanEagle drone entered Iranian airspace, saying U.S. operations in the Persian Gulf are "confined to internationally recognized water and airspace."

The internationally recognized territorial limit is 12 nautical miles off the coast.

He said that U.S. ScanEagles have been lost into the sea in the past, but none have gone down recently.

Other nations in the Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates, have ScanEagle drones in service.

Iranian sources reported earlier that the IRGC shot down the ScanEagle unmanned drone, after it violated Iran's airspace.

IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi made the announcement on Tuesday, adding that the Iranian armed forces enjoy full intelligence command over foreign movements in the Persian Gulf region, Press TV reported.

Referring to the captured ScanEagle drone, the Iranian commander pointed out, "Such drones are usually launched from large aircraft carriers."

With a wingspan of just over 10 feet, the ScanEagle is designed to fly for 24 hours or more without refueling and can survive extreme weather conditions, according to its manufacturer. It can be launched from the ground or from a warship.

The ScanEagle is a relatively low-cost, low-tech system and is operated by a number of U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf region.

Iran has released footage of the captured drone, but has not given details of how or when it captured the supposed U.S. device.

A report on the website of the Wall Street Journal on Sunday cited US officials as saying that Washington has stepped up its spying operations on Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran "over the past two months". The report said that the increased spying missions by the US on the Iranian nuclear facility have been conducted in part with the Pentagon's fleet of drones operating over the Persian Gulf.

Commander Fadavi further said that the IRGC Navy is fully monitoring all the movements of the foreign forces in the Persian Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz to counter any potential threats against the country.

Besides, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the country can use the captured drone as an evidence against the U.S. in international courts, Trend news agency reported, referring to IRIB News.

"We have repeatedly stated that if the U.S. continues its aggression against Iran, we will take proper action," Salehi noted.

On Nov. 25 Iran issued a warning against the repeated violations of its airspace by US drones and the illegal moves of US Navy warships in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.

Earlier in November, Iran's military repelled an unidentified aircraft that had entered the country's airspace "above the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic in the Persian Gulf".

The Pentagon claimed two Iranian warplanes had fired at a US drone as it conducted a routine, but classified, surveillance mission over the Persian Gulf about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast.

However, Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, revealed the drone had been driven away by Iranian forces as it attempted to gather oil and economic intelligence around Kharg Island in southern Iran.

The general stated that the country's armed forces would respond with stronger action if US drones attempted to violate Iran's airspace again.