Iran has evidence it captured US drone

DUBAI/IRAN

An image grab taken from Iran's state television Al-Alam on December 4, 2012, is said to show US drone that penetrated its airspace over Gulf waters. AFP Photo

A prominent Iranian lawmaker says Tehran has material evidence to prove that it has captured an American unmanned aircraft, AFP has reported.

The head of the Iranian parliament’s defense committee Ismaeil Kowsari wouldn’t specify what proof the Islamic Republic has to back up his claims. But he said Wednesday that Tehran will release more information on the aircraft soon.

Iran claimed on Tuesday that it captured a Boeing-designed ScanEagle drone recently after it entered Iranian air space over the Persian Gulf.

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

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

US Navy says has not lost drone over Gulf

No U.S. drone has been lost in the Gulf recently, a U.S. Navy spokesman said after Iran said it had captured a U.S. intelligence-gathering drone in its airspace in the last few days, Reuters has reported.
 
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said a ScanEagle drone was gathering information over the Gulf and had entered Iranian airspace when it was "captured".
 
"The U.S. Navy has fully accounted for all unmanned air vehicles (UAV) operating in the Middle East region. Our operations in the Gulf are confined to internationally recognized water and air space," a spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain said.
 
"We have no record that we have lost any ScanEagles recently."