TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Iranian airspace is a very dangerous place for unarmed surveillance drones flown by the CIA, a commander for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
Brig. Gen. Hossien Salami, deputy IRGC commander, said Iran was leading the way in advanced drone technology. His country, he added, has stealth technology.
"The U.S. plane that we recently took over is not much more advanced than our drone technology," he told the semiofficial Mehr News Agency.
Tehran claimed it downed an RQ-170 surveillance drone flying under the authority of the CIA. Iran paraded the drone on national television, depicting a craft that showed little sign of damage.
The CIA allegedly used the drone to map suspected nuclear sites inside Iran, analysts told The New York Times. U.S. officials said they lost control of the drone over western Afghanistan.
Salami said it was "difficult to believe" that the Americans lost control of the vehicle given its near-pristine condition.
The downing, he added, was an intelligence victory for Iran.
"Iran's space is very unsafe for U.S. drones," he added.
