Pentagon: Iranian Warplane Moves Against US Drone in Gulf

MQ-1 Predator  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pentagon says an Iranian warplane approached an unarmed U.S. military surveillance drone earlier this week over international waters in the Persian Gulf.
A U.S. spokesman said the U.S. drone - under escort by two U.S. military aircraft - was conducting routine classified surveillance on Tuesday when the Iranian plane closed to within 25 kilometers.  The spokesman said all U.S. aircraft remained over international waters at all times and added that the Iranian aircraft later departed after a verbal warning.

Last November, Iran confirmed a similar Pentagon report that two Iranian warplanes fired on and missed an unarmed U.S. drone in the Gulf.  Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted at the time in official Iranian media as saying the action was ordered against an anonymous plane that had entered Iranian airspace. 

Pentagon officials said the U.S. Predator drone was over international waters on November 1 conducting routine surveillance when the attack occurred.

The incident is the second such encounter made public in the past four months, and comes ahead of a visit to Israel by U.S. President Barack Obama that is expected to focus largely on Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions and Israeli vows to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to take military action if Iran appears on the verge of developing a nuclear bomb.  The Obama administration has urged restraint and encouraged Israel to allow the pressure of international diplomacy and economic sanctions to force an end to Iran's secretive nuclear program.

Ahead of his trip, President Obama told Israeli television that it would currently take more than a year for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

VOA News
March 14, 2013

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Gen Allen to leave Afghanistan in February: Pentagon

English: General John R. Allen, USMC Commander, International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Washington (PAN): General John Allen, Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan will be replaced by General Joseph Dunford in next month, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday.
“I do not have a precise date. I think it is going to be sometime in February,” the Pentagon Press Secretary, George Little, told reporters during an off camera news conference.

Allen is to be replaced in February by General Joseph F Dunford Jr, who has already been confirmed by the United States Senate.

However, the Pentagon official denied reports that the change in command in Afghanistan has anything to do with the investigations against Gen Allen over a series of e-mails he exchanged with a socialite Jill Kelley.

“It was always the plan to have change in command in Afghanistan in early 2013 and the Pentagon will stick to that plan,” Little said.

Last year Obama had nominated Gen Allen as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. However, his nomination has been delayed until the Pentagon investigation concludes.

General Allen assumed the responsibilities of the On July 18, 2011, assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on July 18, 2011. He succeeded David Petraeus, who was appointed as the CIA Director. Petraeus later resigned as CIA Director citing extra marital affairs.

from Pajhwok
By Lalit J Kha Jan 3, 2013 - 10:54

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Iranian fighters fired on U.S. drone in Gulf: Pentagon

Two Iranian fighter jets fired on an unarmed U.S. drone in the Gulf last week and missed, the Pentagon said Thursday, warning that the United States stood ready to protect its forces in the region.

The incident occurred on November 1 -- less than a week before America’s presidential election -- but the Pentagon kept it quiet until now.

“They intercepted the aircraft and fired multiple rounds,” spokesman George Little told a news conference.

The confrontation threatened to ignite a potential conflict between the arch foes amid a mounting crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program and a shadow war marked by cyberattacks and assassinations in Iran.

Tough new sanctions led by the United States are squeezing Iran’s economy while Washington is accused of staging cyber sabotage on Tehran’s uranium enrichment plants.

The U.S. military drone was “never in Iranian air space” and came under fire from Su-25 fighters off the Iranian coast over international waters, Little said.

The robotic Predator aircraft was conducting “routine surveillance” and the United States has told Iran it has no plans to suspend the flights, he said.

“The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters over the Arabian Gulf consistent with longstanding practice and our commitment to the security of the region,” he said.

In a warning to Tehran, the Pentagon spokesman said the United States was prepared to safeguard its forces.

“We have a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military, to protect our military assets and our forces in the region and will do so when necessary,” Little said.

The Predator returned safely to an unspecified military base in the region following the incident that occurred at 4:50 am U.S. eastern standard time (0850 GMT).

The MQ-1 drone, a turboprop plane that flies at a much slower speed than the fighter jets, was pursued further by the Iranian warplanes but not fired on again, Little added.

The Predator was intercepted about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast, beyond the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles off the country’s shore.

At the State Department, officials unveiled yet more sanctions on Iran, targeting the communications minister and the culture ministry among others for censoring the media and the Internet.

The move against Communications Minister Reza Taghipour came after he was blamed for ordering the jamming of international satellite TV broadcasts and restricting Internet access, a State Department official said.

The United States is determined to stop the “Iranian government from creating an ‘electronic curtain’ to cut Iranian citizens off from the rest of the world,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

from AL ARABIYA NEWS

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