Iran Threatening to Take US to Court over Drones
Published at(TEHRAN, Iran) — Iran is not backing down from its claim that it captured a U.S.-made drone over its airspace recently.
In fact, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi went as far to say on Wednesday that Tehran will move ahead with legal action against the U.S. because of its alleged “drone incursion.”
According to Salehi, Iran would seek prosecution against Washington in international court because a ScanEagle was supposedly gathering intelligence as it entered Iran’s airspace.
Tehran said this was a further example of a U.S. attempt at spying. Last December, an unmanned RQ-170 stealth aircraft was found in eastern Iran although the Pentagon said the drone was brought down by mechanical failures.
Last month, Washington acknowledged that a Predator drone was fired upon by the Iranians while over international airspace. The aircraft was not hit.
As for the disputed ScanEagle, which is smaller and flies lower than other drones, a U.S. Navy spokesman in Bahrain said that no such aircraft was missing in the Persian Gulf — a claim reiterated by the White House.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio