Middle East
Iran escalates psychological war after downing U.S. drone
Growing in confidence after downing an American drone and aiming to deter the possibility of an attack by foreign powers, Iran has announced that it is on the threshold of major technological breakthroughs in the military field. Timing his statement with the ongoing naval exercises east of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi, according to IRNA said: "Iran is in a unique position in all areas, including manufacture of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, as well as defence and assault airplanes. Iran has also made great progress in electronic warfare technology, aviation industries and missile technology."
Iran ends 2011 with a blaze of intelligence
The appearance on Iranian state TV on Sunday of alleged Central Intelligence Agency spy Amir Hekmati is yet another twist in a string of apparent Iranian counter-intelligence successes at the expense of US espionage. The 28-year old Arizona-born man of Iranian origin has been accused by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) of trying to feed disinformation to the ministry with a view to gaining a foothold on the outer reaches of the MOIS. A former member of the United States Marines Corps, Hekmati was apparently detained in September. News of his detention was released just days ago. This apparent counter-intelligence success comes on the heels of the capture of the ultra-secret US RQ-170 Sentinel drone
European Sources: CIA Spy Satellite Blinded by Iran
Iran official We tricked the U.S. surveillance drone to land intact
US asks Iran to return downed drone
The US has asked Iran to return a downed surveilance drone. The request came during a Washington press conference by President Barack Obama about the end of US occupation in Iraq. "We have asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond," Obama said on Monday during a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after the two met at the White House. General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, was quoted on Sunday as saying the drone woud not be returned as it was seeking "vital" intelligence about Iran for the US.
Iran shows film of captured US drone
Iranian TV has shown the first video footage of an advanced US drone aircraft that Tehran says it downed near the Afghan border. The film was captioned "RQ170 - advanced US spy plane" and carried on the Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1 channel. The images show Iranian military officials inspecting the aircraft, which appears to be largely undamaged.
Why is US Playing Crash-and-Tell Over Its Drone
Why are the overseers of Washington's secret missions so eager to play crash-and-tell? -- A starting point: was this an attempt to head off Iran s inevitable showreel of pictures if it has recovered a highly-prized CIA drone? If so, it represents a failure --- so far --- by US intelligence agencies and their political masters, miscalculating Iran s ability --- or readiness --- to put out the images. Instead, it was one of the Americans who blurted out that the RQ-170 had been taken "largely intact", with eager American rivals and enemies awaiting the revelation of details of an elusive technology
Drone Crash in Iran Reveals Secret U.S. Surveillance Bid
The stealth C.I.A. drone that crashed deep inside Iranian territory last week was part of a stepped-up surveillance program that has frequently sent the United States' most hard-to-detect drone into the country to map suspected nuclear sites, according to foreign officials and American experts who have been briefed on the effort.