Iranian Army: We Gave a Missile Warning to a U.S. Spy Plane

The commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Headquarters announced that they had "identified and issued a missile warning" to a U.S. U2 spy plane, stating that the aircraft left Iranian airspace immediately after receiving the warning. According to Tasnim News Agency, Farzad Esmaeili, the commander, said on Sunday evening, December 7, that "we have reached a point where we can identify the maximum number of enemy spy planes with minimal cost and by using domestic equipment." He added, "We identified the U2 spy plane last week at a location in the country and issued a warning to this aircraft, and the missile system was prepared to target it, but the plane returned immediately after receiving the warning." Esmaeili had previously reported that Iran issued an air warning to a U.S. U2 reconnaissance aircraft on February 11, 2013, in the general area of the Sea of Oman before it approached Iranian borders, and that the aircraft moved away from Iran's borders. Reports indicate that the U2 is a "long-range reconnaissance aircraft" manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The Islamic Republic also reported on December 4, 2011, that it had taken control of and landed a U.S. drone 225 kilometers deep inside Iranian territory with "minimal damage." Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards, announced on November 10 that they had "built and flown the final model of the Iranian RQ-170 drone," which he claimed was a copy of the American drone. The Pentagon stated on November 21 that the copied model of its drone "lacks significance and quality." The commander of the Air Defense Headquarters also referred to the destruction of the "Hermes drone," stating, "The Hermes is like a needle in a haystack, which must be destroyed in an area that does not interfere with passenger aircraft to avoid damage to that aircraft and surrounding lands, and we destroyed this aircraft in a 43-minute operation in cooperation with the Guards and the Army." The public relations office of the Revolutionary Guards announced on August 24 that they had shot down an "Israeli Hermes" drone before it reached the area of the Natanz nuclear facility. Esmaeili also mentioned on Sunday that "one of the officials from European countries was trying to enter our borders without identification, and since we kept him waiting for more than two hours at the border, when he realized that no one should confront the Islamic Republic of Iran, he returned." Esmaeili did not mention the name of this European official. On December 8, 2011, Iran temporarily closed its airspace to a plane carrying German Chancellor Angela Merkel, causing the aircraft of Germany's highest official to be stranded in Turkish airspace for two hours. Following this action by Iran, the plane carrying Ms. Merkel was stranded in Turkish airspace for two hours and was eventually allowed to pass through Iranian airspace after an hour of negotiations with Iran by Turkey and the German Foreign Minister, allowing it to enter India with a delay.