Iran claims to have 'evidence' of captured US drone

One day after the U.S. denied it had lost any of its drones in the Middle East, an Iranian official says Tehran has “evidence” that it brought down another U.S. drone.

Iran claimed Tuesday that it had captured a Boeing-designed ScanEagle drone from the United States, but U.S. officials denied the claims.

“We have no evidence that the Iranian claims are true,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney. Navy Cmdr. Jason Salata said that all U.S. drones in the region were “accounted for."

But Ismael Kowsari, head of the Iranian parliament’s defense committee, told The Associated Press Wednesday that Iran would prove in the coming days it did indeed have possession of a U.S. drone.

“We have material evidence to prove that the drone we captured belongs to the U.S.,” Kowsari said. “The unmanned aircraft took off from a warship. The Americans will have no choice but to confirm that one of their drones is missing.”

Kowsari did not provide any proof to back up the claims, but told the AP Tehran will release more information soon.

Iran did in fact obtain a U.S. drone last year, and the claim of another capture comes after Iran shot at a U.S. drone flying in the Persian Gulf last month.

Iranian officials claimed that drone had entered Iranian airspace, while the United States said it was over international waters. The drone was not hit and returned to its base.

Kowsari dismissed the notion the drone could have belonged to another country, suggesting U.S. officials should “recount” their drones.

“The [United Arab Emirates] UAE doesn’t dare to engage in such activities against us. We have sufficient evidence to prove it is American. The U.S. commanders may need to recount their drones,” he said. “The capture of the drone demonstrates Iran’s capability of bringing down such aircraft intact."

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