Hizballah Drone 'Not Iran's Latest Technology'

Israel released images appearing to show an explosion after it scrambled fighter jets on October 6 to intercept a drone that crossed deep into Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said that the drone that was launched from Lebanon by Hizballah and shot down by Israel earlier this month was not "the latest Iranian technology."

In a statement reported by the IRNA news agency, Vahidi said Iran "currently possesses unmanned aircraft with technology far more advanced" than the Hizballah drone.

Earlier, Vahidi had said the drone's mission over Israel was a sign of Iran's military might.

In April, Iran announced it was building a drone based on the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel drone that was captured when it crashed last year near the Afghan border.

The Hizballah drone spent some 20 minutes in Israeli airspace on October 10 before being shot down by Israeli Air Force planes.

Hizballah said the drone was built in Iran and assembled in Lebanon.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP