Iran Says It Shot Down U.S. Drone

An RQ-170 unmanned U.S. drone (file photo)

Iranian media say Iran has shot down an unmanned U.S. reconnaissance drone aircraft in the east of the country.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that the U.S. Army RQ-170 aerial vehicle was seized by the Iranian armed forces.

Iran's Al-Alam Arabic language satellite channel said the drone had been downed "a few hours ago" with "slight damage" after it "briefly violated" Iranian territory in the east.

It also quoted a military source as saying the response to the violation of Iranian airspace "will not be limited to Iran's borders."

The development comes after the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran last week by hard-line student protesters.

Iran is locked in a dispute with the United States and its allies over its disputed nuclear program, which Tehran denies is aimed at the development of nuclear weapons.

compiled from agency reports