Iranian company to ship toy drone to Obama

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TEHRAN, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A non-profit company in Iran said it plans to send U.S. President Barack Obama miniature toy drones as a gift.

The company, Aaye Art Group, said it is honoring Obama's request that Iran return a U.S. unmanned aircraft that crashed in the Islamic republic last year, only the aircraft will be a miniature, CNN reported.

"We plan to send a full squadron of 12 to the White House for President Obama as a present," said Reza Kioumarsi, spokesman for the Tehran-based non-profit, non-governmental novelty manufacturer.

The company is trying to determine Obama's favorite color before sending the mini-drones, measuring about 1/80th the size of the real thing, Kioumarsi said.

In December, Obama said the United States asked Iran to return the highly classified RQ-170 Sentinel drone, saying, "We'll see how the Iranians respond."

Iran has said its armed forces downed the drone near Kashmar, about 140 miles from the country's border with Afghanistan in December. That month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in a speech that Iran wouldn't return the aircraft.