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Watch the Secret Video Iran Says Is From the U.S. Drone It Captured in 2011

Feb. 7, 2013 9:09am Liz Klimas

TEHRAN, Iran (TheBlaze/AP) — When it was confirmed Iran had captured a U.S. CIA spy drone in late 2011, there was concern the country would be able to siphon information and technology from the equipment. Now, a little more than a year later, Iran’s state TV has broadcast footage allegedly extracted from the drone, the latest in a flurry of moves from Iranian authorities meant to underline the nation’s purported military and technological advances.

Iran has long claimed it managed to reverse-engineer the RQ-170 Sentinel, seized in December 2011 after it entered Iranian airspace from the country’s eastern border with Afghanistan, and that it’s capable of launching its own production line for the unmanned aircraft.

Iran State TV Shows Footage of Images Supposedly Taken From Drone It Captured in 2011

This undated image taken from video broadcast on Iranian state television purports to show a U.S. drone landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Iran’s state TV has broadcast footage on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, allegedly extracted from the advanced CIA spy drone captured in 2011. (Photo: Iranian state TV via AP video)

After initially saying only that a drone had been lost near the Afghan-Iran border, American officials eventually confirmed the Sentinel had been monitoring Iran’s military and nuclear facilities. Washington asked for it back but Iran refused, and instead released photos of Iranian officials studying the aircraft.

This file photo, which cannot be independently verified, was released on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, purports to show the chief of the aerospace division of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, left, listening to an unidentified colonel pointing to a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel drone. (Photo: AP/Sepahnews, File

The video aired late Wednesday on Iranian TV shows an aerial view of an airport and a city, said to be a U.S. drone base and Kandahar, Afghanistan. The TV also showed images purported to be the Sentinel landing at a base in eastern Iran but it was unclear if that footage meant to depict the moment of the drone’s seizure.

In addition, the TV also showed images of an Iranian helicopter transporting the drone, as well as its disassembled parts being carried on a trailer.

In another part of the video, the chief of the Revolutionary Guard’s airspace division, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that only after capturing the drone, Iran realized it “belongs to the CIA.”

Watch the footage:

“We were able to definitively access the data of the drone, once we brought it down,” said Hajizadeh.

He described the Sentinel’s capture as a huge scoop for Iran, saying that at the time, Tehran did not rule out a possible punitive U.S. airstrike over the drone.

Here’s a version of some of the footage posted to YouTube (via Gizmodo):

David Cenciotti for The Aviationist wrote that the footage appears to show the “area surrounding Kandahar airfield (KAF) as the RQ-170 is about to land, a small building (possibly being spied), a C-130 and at least one Reaper drone among shelters at KAF.”

If this footage is indeed from the drone, Cenciotti wrote that it shows the internal memory of the drone was not automatically erased.

Iranian officials have accused the U.S. of stepping up its espionage activities against Iran as part of intensified Western efforts to force Tehran to abandon its uranium enrichment program, a key aspect of its disputed nuclear program. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran may be trying to develop atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

In an attempt to embarrass Washington, Iran has claimed to have captured several American drones, most recently in December, when Tehran said it seized a Boeing-designed ScanEagle drone – a less sophisticated aircraft – after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.

U.S. officials said there was no evidence that the latest claims were true.

Also Thursday, the semi-official Fars news agency published photos reportedly depicting a domestic production line of ScanEagle drones. The photos show several drones in a workshop.

Iran has said before that it’s making ScanEagle copies and putting them into service, but has not offered proof for those claims.

Fars also quoted deputy defense minister, Mohammad Eslami, as saying that Iran has also established a “production line for the drones in foreign countries.” He did not elaborate, and it was not clear if he was referring to Syria or Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Iran’s top regional allies.

The latest Sentinel footage came as the U.S. tightened sanctions to pressure the Iranian government to limit its nuclear program and restrictions on institutions that Washington says are stifling political dissent and censoring speech.

Among the expanded measures announced Monday by the Treasury Department is a move to deny Iran access to revenue garnered from its oil exports. Under the latest sanctions, Iran would only be able to use revenue from its oil sales in a country that purchased its crude – now mostly big Asian economies such as China and India – which would significantly limit its access to the money.

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Comments (49)

Seeds
Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:47am
Sort of like usa fighting usa

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katzkiner
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:46pm
When Iran attacks will Obama pull the “Benghazi strategy” and be unavailable again. He transfers money, equipment and tech to the enemy and is conveniently unavailable to direct a battle he wants us to lose anyway. Him, Clinton, Panetta, and Dempsey. What a plan. Worked once, will probably work twice.

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- pavepaws
  Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:57am
  Led by fools.
  
  Report this comment
yourpaled
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 3:49pm
If Iran captured this drone fully in tact, then they have technology superior to the US. It seems obvious that this was a gift from Obama, but may be void of US’s true technology, just like most aircraft sold internationally, like F-16 without the computer technology attached.

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- nkawtg
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 5:07pm
  No, capturing a US drone does not give them superior technology to the US, we built it afterall.
  If you saw a picture of their “Stealth Fighter” you would die laughing.
  The video is of Kandahar, but don’t google it, bing it instead. use these coords. 31.501946,65.842009
  
  You will see the temporary hangars it was pulling into and the overhead shot shows many raptors and reapers in the shelter area.
  
  Also one RB-57 parked not far from there. The last time I saw one fly was over 35 years ago, I wonder what it’s doing there.
  
  Google and Yahoo show blurred or outdated and blurred overhead imagery, but bing shows just how big the Kandahar airbase is.
  
  Some serious bucks have been spent there.
  
  Report this comment
- Simonov
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:39pm
  Apparently there are 2 RB-57s in Afghanistan and operating out of Kandahar serving as an airborne communications translating hub. Check this out http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/09/air-force-universal-translator/
  
  Report this comment
Ironeagle
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 3:33pm
A serious tech transfer…if I were in charge, I’d have sent a stealth to destroy the drone on the ground. One small diameter bomb would be all it takes.

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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 1:07pm
Hand delivering the drone was a special delivery designed only for the purpose of a cover story for what obama/jarret had already downloaded to them. Remember- Jarret made a visit to Iran a few times which is unconscionable for this very reason. You don’t go sending amateurs with access to top secret info to the enemy for a reason. Yet? They did it!

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Mossy_pump
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 1:00pm
What are the chances our military designed a dummy drone full of false information and characteristics “meant” to be obtained by Iran to “throw them off track” from what our drones are actually capable of?? That’s what I would have done, just sayin…

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pushinginto
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 11:27am
The drone is courtesy of the same people that gave F-16′s and Abrams tanks to Egypt.

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- angeleyes63
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 11:50am
  @PUSHINGINTO
  You got that right a gift from the opos admin.
  Just leveling the playing field after all why should America be the strongest in the world?!!!!!!
  Wouldn’t that protect us and our children?
  To the opos admin that must be a bad idea.
  
  Report this comment
Gargent_Furball
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:18am
Iran is our friend…. Ha Ha Ha Ha

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- AUsername
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:32am
  easily could be true that.
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 11:17am
  @auser
  You want to friends with terrorists? The Iranian regime is to Hamas and Hezbollah what the Taliban was to Al Qaeda. Should we be friends with the Taliban too?
  
  Report this comment
RaydocX
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:14am
the biggest threat here is the exportation of the data to China and Russia, who will develop counters…
that said, if Iran is somehow bringing these down intact, there already exists a counter.
all the more reason for space based eyes, and to support better terminal destruction capabilities on the drones going into enemy airspace.

amusing that the same drones they boast about bringing down they are reproducing for use. the spectacular destruction of several at lift off, widely publicized on Obama’s media outlets might be worth the loss of our drone.

It’s sure that the oppressive regime should be toppled, and as sure that it’s not worth a drop of American blood to accomplish…. Drones away!

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thegreatcarnac
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:59am
The Iranians said they are studying the captured drone but are also scouring the desert for the little man that apparently flew it there. He must have fallen out.

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- toiletclogga
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:25am
  Could it be the monkey they sent to space? LMAO!
  
  Report this comment
bannedfromCNN
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:46am
Since the location of the captured drone was known by the Obama regime, it would have been easily destroyed before the Iranians could have extracted any valuable information from it. Instead, Obama ‘asked’ for it to be returned, which was immediately denied by the Iranians. The Chinese have studied it and now we are seeing the videos…
The regime’s response to this was shockingly similar to that during the Benghazi attack – just another failure of the Obama policy. How many more examples do we need before the American people demand a change?

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- Liberalismsamentaldisorder
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:04am
  The American people have no idea there’s even a need for change.
  The press in America is utterly corrupt.
  This news will never, ever be shown broadly to the public.
  Last year we had a consulate ATTACKED and our ambassador KILLED and the press covered it up completely.
  The feds have been building an ignorant populace for decades now and here we are
  The Low Information Voter is all that matters and they’ve now got a majority.
  America is on the brink.
  
  Report this comment
- pragmaticpatriot
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:15am
  a cruise missile wouldve fixed this, nuke them all and let allah sort them out
  
  Report this comment
toiletclogga
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:45am
There is more to this story. Does anybody believe we would develope this technology with no way of ensuring the unit is destroyed in the event of a malfunction over enemy territory? This drone was either delivered to the government of Iran, or the components were destroyed, and Iran has an inoperable shell. It is quite possibly a trojan horse used as part of a tactical deception program.

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- DZ-015
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:56am
  Infected with computer viruses, perhaps?
  
  Report this comment
DAYWATCHER
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:43am
KICKINBACK, is correct. Egypt is so close to Iran, that they will just give them a new F-16.

A huge war is brewing in the land of sand and we are talking about cutting back the size of our military. This nation is about to commit suicide and it makes me sick. The Russians, socialist, and Communist around the world must be laughing at the stupidity of the American people and “leadership” we have elected.

I hate Progressives, Marxist, Communist and Socialist. Dam them all but their mission is almost complete.

God helps us all.

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- pragmaticpatriot
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:12am
  you too are correct. we see it unfolding like a slow motion train wreck but seem powerless to stop it.
  
  Report this comment
AUsername
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:42am
USA bullying Iran, we need to respect Iran’s national sovereignty. Iran is not even an enemy of USA.

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- DAYWATCHER
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:48am
  I hope you meant that as a joke.
  
  If not then you are a idiot.
  
  If not, please pull your head out and take a look around!
  
  Just saying…
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:50am
  Obama , naturally, agrees with you.
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:53am
  DAY: I think AUSER is one of those ” we just need to be nice to these people and they will be nice to us ” people, or as you said, an “idiot !”
  
  Report this comment
- DAYWATCHER
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:03am
  You know it BARBER2 …!!!!
  
  This person is probably not over 26 years old and is clueless. But hey, what can we expect… he was educated by the best progressives/socialist our school systems have to offer…..
  
  Report this comment
- Liberalismsamentaldisorder
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:06am
  Wow, you are one sheltered individual.
  Perhaps you should do some research before posting?
  
  Report this comment
- pragmaticpatriot
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:13am
  another liberal drone, pathetic useful moron
  
  Report this comment
- AUsername
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:31am
  watch out rednecks there is a muslim under your bed.
  
  Report this comment
- ofass
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 11:07am
  DAYWATCHER@ B is the right answer…
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 11:25am
  @auser
  I’ve eaten lunch with Muslims and I say Iran is an enemy. Iran is state sponsor of terror and has declared the USA to be its enemy. What more do they need to do before you’ll take them seriously?
  
  Report this comment
- AUsername
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 11:33am
  for them to get us involved in endless wars like Israel and the zionists are doing. that would be threat to take seriously, another country getting your troops killed, putting your country in debt, robbing tax payers of their hard earned money and creating enemies for you that didn’t have to be created.
  
  Report this comment
- tzion
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 1:02pm
  America hasn’t fought a single war on Israel’s behalf. Oh sure you’ll bring up Iraq of course but you’ll fail to mention that many Jews in congress voted against the war in Iraq. You will also provide no reason why Israel would want Iraq specifically taken care of. Anyone could easily see that Syria was far more of a danger to Israel than Iraq. By the time we went in Iraq had has its nuclear program destroyed, been invaded by the USA, and was still recovering from all of its failed wars.
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:31am
Somehow I still feel there is more to this story than anyone fully knows – it would come as no shock at all if Obama ordered the drone to fall into Iranian hands to ensure the technology got passed onto the enemies of our nation.

Given the treason already committed by Obama such motivations would be no shock to anyone.

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- CABERNETQHS
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:59am
  They weren’t smart enough to even know it was one of ours until they had it in their hands – and we are to believe they actually brought it down intact? This was a gift.
  
  Report this comment
- pragmaticpatriot
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:16am
  Valerie Jarret ordered this
  
  Report this comment
RJJinGadsden
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:29am
LOL, even with the easy access Iran now has via Egypt as others have just pointed out here. This still looks like bits and pieces of chopped up You Tube video.

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Cavallo
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:28am
Hopefully they release some design specs so the American public can start to learn how to defend against them.

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- dcatkin
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:39am
  You know that they couldn’t care less about the American people, although that is a nice thought. We are the infedels of the world, and they don’t like us.
  
  They won’t release a damn thing that might help the American people, they will keep everything secret just like a great government would.
  
  Free Our Country
  
  Report this comment
gyro
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:19am
Wonder what they could get for it on Ebay?

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:30am
  LoL!
  
  Report this comment
KickinBack
Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:14am
Come on Iran. You should know by now that you don’t have to steal anything from us. All you have to do is ask. Obama will be more than happy to give them to you. Heck, you might even get some F-16′s, and some tanks to boot.

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- gyro
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:20am
  exacly !
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:21am
  Yes. Or maybe Iran can just ask Egypt to send some over ….ah, the Obama foreign policy ?!
  
  Report this comment
- IndyGuy
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:30am
  I’m thinkin’ they did ask and Obama’s reply was : “Here’s what we’ll do…We’ll land one over there for ya and claim you brought it down.”
  
  Report this comment
- pragmaticpatriot
  Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:22am
  No need to move the tanks and f-16s, just fill them with persians on-site, Israel is just one border away. We gave them a fighter wing and an armored division worth of the best tanks in the world! Isnt that the plan, after all?
  
  Report this comment

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