WASHINGTON - An Iranian jet shot at a U.S. predator drone last week over the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon said Thursday. Pentagon spokesman George Little said the drone was not downed and was over international waters. The incident was first reported by CNN. Little said the drone was performing “routine surveillance” and was about 16 miles off the Iranian coast when an Iranian SU-25 warplane intercepted it and opened fire. He said it was the first time an unmanned US aircraft was shot at in international airspace over the Persian Gulf, and would not say which branch of the military the drone belonged to.
Little said the U.S. informed the Iranians that it would continue to conduct such surveillance flights in international airspace.
The drone’s still and video cameras allegedly captured the Nov. 1 incident, CNN reports.
The Iranian jet was part of the Revolutionary Guard, CNN reports.
In December of last year, a surveillance drone went down in eastern Iran near the Afghan border. Iranian officials insisted they brought the drone down with a cyberattack, while U.S. officials have neither confirmed nor denied the claim.