Iran Downs Israeli Drone Launched from Nakhichevan
Wednesday, August 27th, 2014
Tehran released the photo of an Israeli Hermes 450 drone it downed on Sunday
TEHRAN–Iran announced that its Revolutionary Guard Forces Corps on
Sunday downed an Israeli drone near a uranium enriching facility in
central Iran. Sources said that the drone was launches from a military
base in Nakhichevan, indicating Baku’s involvement in the mission.
The news of the drone’s provenance from Nakhichevan was also confirmed
by sources close to DEBKAfile, an Israeli military intelligence
website based in Jerusalem.
Iran’s military did not officially identify Azerbaijan as the point of
origin of the drone, but said that they have confirmation that the
drone was launched from a former Soviet republic.
In a statement on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
(IRGC) said it had successfully intercepted and shot down an Israeli
spy drone by a surface-to-air missile, known as Hermes 450. The
aircraft was on its way toward the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran’s
central province of Isfahan, reported the Fars news agency.
On Wednesday, Fars reported, that the Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s
Armed Forces, Gen. Masoud Jazayeri said the country whence the drone
originated must make “compensatory actions” or else be publicly named.
Jazayeri also said that Iran will take decisive action and hinted that
in retaliation for what he called Israel’s infringement on its
territorial integrity “the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to
the enemy in the occupied territories [Palestinian territories].”
Iran’s foreign ministry said that Iran would pursue the matter within
international organizations.
Official Baku has not commented on the matter.
From: A. Papazian