Tehran: Iran has repelled an American U2 reconnaissance plane as it tried to enter the Iranian airspace, a senior Iranian military commander said on Tuesday.
Iran`s air defence systems identified the radar-evading plane in the southern part of the country Feb 10, but the plane left the area after receiving a warning from the Iranian air-defence units, Xinhua reported citing Press TV.
"The US U2 plane was flying from Pakistan`s southwest to the east of the Sea of Oman and was being monitored by our radar and electronic surveillance systems every moment," said Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya air defence base.
He said Iran`s Persian Gulf radar gave the plane a warning when it was trying to enter Iran`s airspace above the Sea of Oman and southeast of the Strait of Hormuz.
Esmaili said the plane, one of the world`s most technologically-advanced reconnaissance aircraft, probably intended to take images of and gather information about Iran`s southern region.
In December 2011, Iranian media reported that the military downed a US RQ-170 stealth aircraft.
IANS
