SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pentagon: Iran Fighter Jets Fired at US Drone
Nov 08, 2012
The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that two Iranian fighter planes fired on, but did not hit, an unarmed US drone late last week.
The incident was first reported by CNN, and Pentagon spokesman George Little confirmed the incident on Thursday.
Reuters adds:
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were both advised early on about the incident, which occurred at about 4:50 a.m. ET on November 1. Iran was later warned that the United States would continue to conduct such surveillance flights in the region and that the military would protect its assets.
Little said the drone aircraft was conducting "routine surveillance" and was about 16 miles off the Iranian coast when an Iranian SU-25 warplane intercepted it and opened fire. He said this was first time a US drone had been shot at in international airspace over the Gulf.
That last claim may or may not be true, but this is not the first time that Iran has confronted US spy drones near or within its airspace.
In late 2011, Iran's military shot down a US reconnaissance drone aircraft in eastern Iran and later sent a complaint to the United Nations for the incursion.
"Provocative and secret actions by the American government against the Islamic republic would not be tolerated" Iranian officials said in the complaint.
The Iranians made specific warnings against any "repetition of such actions."
At the time, the US government claimed the drone crashed and was not shot down. They did, however, request the pilotless drone be returned.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that two Iranian fighter planes fired on, but did not hit, an unarmed US drone late last week.
The incident was first reported by CNN, and Pentagon spokesman George Little confirmed the incident on Thursday.
Reuters adds:
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were both advised early on about the incident, which occurred at about 4:50 a.m. ET on November 1. Iran was later warned that the United States would continue to conduct such surveillance flights in the region and that the military would protect its assets.
Little said the drone aircraft was conducting "routine surveillance" and was about 16 miles off the Iranian coast when an Iranian SU-25 warplane intercepted it and opened fire. He said this was first time a US drone had been shot at in international airspace over the Gulf.
That last claim may or may not be true, but this is not the first time that Iran has confronted US spy drones near or within its airspace.
In late 2011, Iran's military shot down a US reconnaissance drone aircraft in eastern Iran and later sent a complaint to the United Nations for the incursion.
"Provocative and secret actions by the American government against the Islamic republic would not be tolerated" Iranian officials said in the complaint.
The Iranians made specific warnings against any "repetition of such actions."
At the time, the US government claimed the drone crashed and was not shot down. They did, however, request the pilotless drone be returned.
The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that two Iranian fighter planes fired on, but did not hit, an unarmed US drone late last week.
The incident was first reported by CNN, and Pentagon spokesman George Little confirmed the incident on Thursday.
Reuters adds:
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were both advised early on about the incident, which occurred at about 4:50 a.m. ET on November 1. Iran was later warned that the United States would continue to conduct such surveillance flights in the region and that the military would protect its assets.
Little said the drone aircraft was conducting "routine surveillance" and was about 16 miles off the Iranian coast when an Iranian SU-25 warplane intercepted it and opened fire. He said this was first time a US drone had been shot at in international airspace over the Gulf.
That last claim may or may not be true, but this is not the first time that Iran has confronted US spy drones near or within its airspace.
In late 2011, Iran's military shot down a US reconnaissance drone aircraft in eastern Iran and later sent a complaint to the United Nations for the incursion.
"Provocative and secret actions by the American government against the Islamic republic would not be tolerated" Iranian officials said in the complaint.
The Iranians made specific warnings against any "repetition of such actions."
At the time, the US government claimed the drone crashed and was not shot down. They did, however, request the pilotless drone be returned.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.