Iran's defense minister confirmed on Friday a Pentagon claim that two
Iranian fighter jets repelled an unarmed U.S. Predator drone in the Persian Gulf
last week."Last week an anonymous plane entered the space over the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf area which, due to the timely, clever and decisive action of our armed forces, was forced to flee," Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted on Iranian news agency ISNA as saying.
"This instance and others before show that the Islamic Republic of Iran has the needed vigilance to monitor all movements and takes decisive and timely actions."
His comments came after the deputy chief of Iran's armed forces, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, had implied the aerial shooting had taken place, quoted earlier on Friday by the Revolutionary Guards' website.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said on Tuesday the Iranian Su-25 Frogfoot fighters fired at the drone on November 1 but did not hit it.
"They intercepted the aircraft and fired multiple rounds," Little said.
It was unclear whether the Iranians intended to warn off the unmanned drone but Little said: "Our working assumption is that they fired to take it down."
The drone was "never in Iranian airspace" and came under fire off the Iranian coast over international waters, Little claimed.
The confrontation threatened to derail diplomatic efforts to defuse a mounting crisis over Tehran's peaceful nuclear program, amid a shadow war of cyber attacks, bombings and assassinations.
Tough new sanctions led by Washington are trying to squeeze Iran's economy, while the United States and the Zionist entity are accused of staging cyber sabotage on Tehran's uranium enrichment plants.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian 
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