Iran Claims It Shot Down 2 Spy Planes; Offers No Proof

Iran is claiming that its elite Revolutionary Guards has shot down two "Western" spy planes flying over the Persian Gulf.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guards' air force wing, told state-run media on Sunday that the drones had violated Iranian air space.

"Westerners have a series of capabilities from long ago which cannot be ignored. ... For example, they have spy drones which can take pictures in some places," he said, according to Press TV. "They do not dare [use] these [planes] in our country. For example, we shot down two of their planes in the Persian Gulf, and this is the first time this incident [has been publicly] announced."

Hajizadeh refused to comment on exactly when or where the drones were shot down. But he claimed that Iranian experts had reverse-engineered and manufactured their own versions of the unmanned spy planes, which were now patrolling the country's borders.

A U.S. military source told CNN that American forces were not aware of any drones missing in the region.

"We have no recent reports of any losses of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] in the gulf due to any cause," said the official. "And while we have lost them in the past, I am not aware of any indication that those had been due to hostile fire of any kind."

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During the same interview, Hajizadeh boasted that all "enemy" bases in the region were now within reach of Iranian missiles, an apparent warning to Washington and its allies. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Bahrain, just across the Persian Gulf from Iran.

"There was a time when an aircraft carrier was something to rely on, and when they told a country that this warship was moving towards your shore, the government of that country would be toppled," the commander said, according to Agence France-Presse. "But now this has become a threat for them. We have full control of our enemies. We notice whatever changes [are] taking place on our shores. When they go on alert in the warships or when they put on life jackets to launch boats in the sea, we are aware of that."