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Subscribe to RSSTEHRAN, Iran - President Barack Obama should apologize for sending an unmanned spy plane into Iranian territory rather than asking for it back after it was seized, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
Iran announced on December 4 it had downed the spy plane in the eastern part of the country, near Afghanistan. It has since shown the plane on television and said it is close to cracking its technological secrets.
On Monday, Obama told a news conference: "We have asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond." Iranian officials had already said they would not return the drone.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Obama's handling of the situation in an interview with CNN late Monday, slamming him for refusing to take action.
Cheney said that he was told Obama was presented with several options that included plans for recovery or destruction of the downed drone. "He rejected all of them," Cheney said.
"He certainly could have gone in and destroyed it on the ground in an airstrike but he didn't take any of the options, he asked nicely for them to return it," he said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference Tuesday that Obama had "forgotten that our air space was violated, a spying operation conducted and international law trampled."
Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi told the official IRNA news agency: "The U.S. spy drone is the property of Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran will decide what it wants to do in this regard."
Meanwhile Ahmadinejad appeared on Venezuelan state TV Tuesday and said Iran had "been able to control" the drone, CNN reported.
"Those who have been in control of this spy plane surely will analyze the plane's system," he reportedly told VTV in Farsi.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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What a spineless bafoon! When will this president wake up. Getting into an armed conflict with Iran is inevitable. It can not be avoided, and it will be a lot better if we do it before they have nuclear missiles which they will have in less than 2 years now. I guarantee that the next use of a nuclear weapon on this globe in a real military situation will be by Iran. They have no qualms about using it, and the confrontation will probably start off as some type of aggression towards Israel. You'll see that happen when they have at least 4 or 5 working nukes that they can deliver by missile. Boy there's going to be a lot of needless bloodshed that could have been avoided had we taken action sooner.
You sound like the US Govt. And Iran would be like Iraq another bloodshed of the young US soldiers. Why don't YOU go there to fight on your own? Let others stay where they feel home and where their business belong.
Insight4U, if you think it's a tragedy seeing our soldiers get killed by poor, uneducated tribesmen with below average basic training, skills, and weaponry then what do you assume will happen when they actually fight a war against a REAL military with advanced weaponry and tactics? Don't be a fool. War is not something we want to live through or face. Be lucky that the "wars" that we have seen in this generation were against a bunch of cowards with some tricks up their sleeves and not against an enemy with their own tanks, air force, etc that would triumph the senseless bloodshed we have already witnessed.
I'm sure it's a war we can win, but at what cost?
Not that I have any interest in illegally invading Iran the way we did with Iraq, but what are you basing that on? Not for nothing, but the Iranian army would look just as inept and worthless on the field of battle as the Iraqi army did in 91' and 2003'. That's kind of the whole reason behind their desire to acquire a nuclear deterrent.
They're barely better off than they were back in the 80's as far as training goes and while their equipment as improved in certain areas, it's still the same overall quality that it was when they fought Saddam. Like the rest of the larger and better equipped Middle Eastern armies, they have a lot of manpower and reasonable equipment; but they would suffer horrible casualties against an evenly matched opponent b/c of the overall capability of individual soldiers.
We asked Iran to apologize for their development of nuclear weapons. They denied the existence of said weapons and continued to build more.
Why don't we do the same to them? We will deny the existence of this supposed "spying" and continue to send more drones into Iran. And if they do get downed, we'll send in the air force to destroy the evidence.
Why dumies like you were ever born?.
Energize bunny why dont you go eat your carrot, and leave cow food alone?.
One day some one will give us a bloody nose we will never forget, and it wont be like 911. they will do unto us like we do unto countless others, and have us surrender like Japan!.. then you and the harks will wake up!. You see that Missile shield we are planning in Russia back yard, and they are warning us against it,? Dont be surprised if they dont go back to cuba this time with several hundred nukes and then will be prepared to use them if we try to do anything. just think, this wont have to fly over any distance!.. and all who are asking for war would get the real thing, by then I will leave !.
Wow Wasp. That was very threatening. I don't think you're really a wasp.
The POTUS should pull his head out of his ass and have are military destroy the drone before they have that technology too. Every day the president shows he is not a leader in any since of the word.
Obama has to get some "guts".
Iran telling the US Government to Apologize?
Hasn't Obama already done that all over the World?.
Ahdinemajad---"Sorry, we caused such an inconvenience to Iran, as to letting you keep the Drone, and getting all the Top Secret Intelligence from it".
Iran knows a weak President; playing it up to the Hilt; they are not one bit intimidated by Obama---
Iranian Government, pls. go to Hell. You are a pain in the behind.
When is the US going to ban this Idiot from coming to our Country, bad mouthing our Way of Life, and our Government? He gets to Speak at the UN?---UN move out of the US as well.
Insight guarantees the next use of a nuclear weapon will be by Iran. What is your basis for your idiotic guarantee? Do you claim to be clairvoyant? Iran does not even have a nuclear weapon, genius. Furthermore, all 16 US intelligence agencies have concluded Iran dos not even have a nuclear weapons program, which further discredits your post.
The moron, Dick Cheney thinks we should have bombed the area and destroyed the done, a clear act of war. We made the mistake, we have to swallow the consequences. Dick Cheney is a Zionist, who clearly wants the US to attack Iran, just as we did Iraq.
One of Mr. Obama's campaign promises in 2008 was that he would sit down with the Iranian leader and talk. Seems he needs to make good on that promise.
Obama should not apologize for jack. First there are Iranian spies in America, second the drone malfunctioned and glided away from Afghanistan, and probably not 150 miles like the Iranians claim. Third, for all I know the drone malfunctioned and crahed in Afghanistan and the Iranians went over the afghani border to retrieve it, being that they were already there to plot terrorist attacks with Al-qaeda against American troops. Who should we believe?
So no, this President should not apologize for me to them. Screw you Aziz, and screw you Cheney
the drone malfunctioned and glided away from Afghanistan, and probably not 150 miles like the Iranians claim.
Yeh, and Santa Claus told the Tooth Fairy he would meet with him and the Easter Bunny for a game of golf.
Oh BS , they were spying on iran , and rightly so . What does cheney have to do with this ?
if , in fact, our drone was in Iranian territory spying or otherwise..if WE do choose to; Apologise, will We get Our drone Back immediately ??..if NOT, then why should We Have to; Apologise........
John, no actually I was with Santa and the rein deers playing music and we were about to cut a Christmas album.
Somedude, Cheney who longs for power and wars, even though he should be dead, was suggesting an incursion in Iranian territory for retrieval or destruction of the drone. I'm glad Obama is not that stupid. Don't buy Cheney's book, it's a crock o' @!$%# to make his rotten soul feel better about his phony self, I don't think he needs the money after all he stole from this country.
"nuclear missiles which they will have in less than 2 years"
I remember 5 years ago it was only 1 year till Iran will be able to produce atomic bomb. Now it is only 2 years till "nuclear missiles"?
BTW, what is "nuclear missile"? May be it is "nucular mussel"? Have to ask Bush jr.
Big Boy...yes I remember 5 years ago as well.......the urgency that if they " get the bomb " and here we are 5 years later...they still have not acquired it.......and of course the minute they do the first thing they will do is fire it at the United States( Yea Right )
What amazes me is that the United States has attacked or invaded the following countries in the last 10-15 years: Yemen, Sudan, Syria, libya, Iraq, Pakistan, Afaganistan, Somalia, etc,,,,,,we have imposed sanctions on Iran, Fly drone aircraft over their country and yet they are considered to most posting here to be the aggressor nation. They have never attacked us or even threatend us,,,surely have not attacked or invaded any other country in that same time period......
Most here are unaware of our long cynical history with Iran... starting in 1953 when we overthrew their elected president....supported Saddam in a war of aggression against Iran, Iran - Contra etc...
If drones, sabotauge ,killing nuke scientists using Iranian exile to inflitrate can stop Iran it will be of course worth it.T he Japanese head of the atomic inspectors left know doubt.But German. U.S Saudi intelligence has known for years that Iran is working on the bomb.Much of the technology came from Pakistan.The majority of Arab countries will support an attack on Iran. They are much more afrad of Iran than they are of Israel. I saw two large bomb holes that killed hundreds of Argentinian citizens in Buenas Aires ,Iran has mass murdered on 6 continents for over 30 years.Saudi Arabia siad "cut off the serpents head which is Iran" AND this is a Muslim country.Hope the Japanese atomic inspector leads the charge on Iran.Backed up by the British who had their embassy trashed by Iran. And German subs which are in the Persian Gulf will blow Iran to smithereens if they do anything funny.Since nazi Germany there hasn´t been such a crazed pyscho reigme and operating under a perverted Islam. FB you must suffer from a type of moral dyslexia to see the world so upside down If there were more people like you during the nazi period we might never have defeated them and the Japanese, Iran is new nazi regime of the last 30 years.Wake up and smell the coffee! Almost all the world is uniied on this and will cheer either silently or openly when Iran is attacked!!
bart martin-3773750, I like freedom of speech. Even inhabitants of mental institutions commenting here ;)
Does o'hussein honestly think they'd give it back ? Not too bright is he ?
waugh waugh waugh boo hoo hoo they wont give me my drone back....thats not fair....its bushs fault....boo hoo hoo.
Iran has to wait for the cry baby in chief to get over his tantrum before the apologies can begin.....
Your ignorants is the reason America is in the position it is in. Thank you for keeping me aware of why I have grown to hate my own country so very much. We should stick you in an island with the people like you that keep this country in fear of the world and cause unstable idiots to run this country. Should we line them all up for you?You know all the people of a different culture so you can bash people for there beliefs and color?
What a moron.Now wonder this country is the next target of the world. Maybe if america chose to fight the right wars we wouldn't have gotten here.
You mean ignorance right ? I guess you were too ignorant to spell it correctly .
Thanks for the laugh, I'm a terrible speller myself and thats one reason I never attack some one elses inteligiance. Because, like the post above, attacking someones IQ when I can't even spell Saterday errr Saturday, oh hell the day after Fri. just seems a little foolish if not down right ignorant, dun't you tink!
You're just mad because he took out Bin Laden, 90% of the top Al-Qaeda leadership, and aided in the downfall of Gadhafi. Cry me a river, chumpchange.
The Iranians should just give him time, he has apologized to all our other enemies.
Not sure if he apologized to Israel for spying within the US and on the politicians. But in return Netanyahu has spit on his face by the speech he hold in front of the Congress/Senate.
Must be time for tea....
IRAN Should say sorry for years of repression, lies, deaths, flagrant miss use of religious books. Women being killed because their husbands feel like it and just all around barbaric use of the system. Iran should be ashamed of the fact that it abuses it neighbors supports terrorism and much more. Go fly a kite you little excuse for a man. How pathetic that the world even let this go on in any way. How pathetic is Russia and China and many other counties that see us as bullies but refuse to see the good we have done and as well see that some of these countries would amount to nothing if not for the U.S. . It amazes me that we allow this to happen and wait till it is so late we are out numbered and against a wall . We made China and Russia and we should move to take that back before Iran gets a weapon of mass and China helps them use it to hold us hostage. The world needs to wake up and see the message on the wall. Europe needs to grow a pair and America needs to end it before it starts. This is not o.k. anymore.
That's not just iran you're describing , it's islam .
WHY NOT??? The clown in chief has bowed and apoligized for everything else under the sun......
You are right, let us hope that he uses that thing that we call a brain and does something right for a change.
Azrancher - The clown in chief? Are you referring to the president who got Osama Bin Laden, the same person that GW Bush could not get 7 years after 9/11?
Or are you referring to the president that invaded Iraq for those WMD, which did not exist? The war that will cost in excess of 3.5 trillion dollars, all of which Bush borrowed from China. It is the war that has weakened the USA, and caused our country to lose the respect it once had from the world community. It is a war which has left us with 10s of thousands of parapalegics and severely traumatized veterans, who will never be the same again and you have the nerve to call our president "the clown in chief."
The real clowns are the right wing war mongers, ready to start another war for Israel.
You can't even spell the word apologize correctly. Go back to your cave and leave America to the grown-ups.
Obama, say you're sorry but instead of sending flowers send the bunker busting and atomic bombs wrapped in christmas paper compliments of the good old USA. There is another mess that the Mid-East has and the biggest part of the mess is Iran, the ones that supply those who attack us. Send the IDIOT into his Promised Land sooner than later. Just another POS that needs an attitude adjustment.
You do realize we broke international law, right? We infiltrated a country's sovereign airspace. That's illegal. If a Russian spy drone was downed in the U.S, we'd be pretty pissed.
Comparing our airspace with that of an evil dictatorship is laughable and absolutely silly. We reserve the right to keep an eye on those that have made countless threats against us and our allies. In fact, I would be a lot more worried if we weren't spying on them.
The so called president should have listened to his advisors-take the drone out-cruise missle or jet fighter-I reall think obama did not care they had it-since he wants all countries to be the same level in this world,you don't let such very high tech stuff get in others hands.We take it out and Iran could not do nothing about it,obama is not a leader and yet he sits in the most powerful sit in the whole world-he is balless,pure candy ass,since obama has been behind all the arab spring knowing that each country would become more hard line Islamic-go by Shairiah laws-by the muslim brotherhood how obama has close ties with-I think he is trying to get all arab nation to be on same page and be able to control the persin gulf...
Except that firing a missile into Iranian territory would be an act of war... And would be viewed that way by EVERYONE. Not just Iranians.
to start with the drones selfdestruct when their communication link fails and cannot glide without computer aid which would note the comm link was down so return to the first statement the drone self destructs when lost the whole story is bull@!$%#
Sure they always deploy the landing gear to self destruct.
It will only be a matter of time until all hell breals loose with these backward camel humpers anyway. They are provocing a response from us and will get it one day.
MOAB.
As much as I detest those lying lunatics who run Iran, this time I've got to agree with both them and Dip-stick Cheney. Obama doesn't know how to respond to serious situations. Does Israel have to do all his thinking for him?
Apologize and be sure to keep spying under the table next time. Sabotage some stuff too. And don't get caught.
Cheney, with his fat encrusted heart was a draft dodger, as were most of the neocons. Let them, along with Romney's sons fight the next war.
I would tell Iran to go have sex with themselves if they think they deserve an apology, especially that gay President they have and there stupid mohammed and tell them to use there quoran for butt wipe.
Sure we'll make our president apologize for having a spy drone inn their area but first let Irans president and his scientists who are really working on a nuclear bomb rather than nuclear energy come truthful with the facts. Main reasoning why we have spy drones over Iran in the first place. Second our president clearly shows his yellow side by not sending in a covert air strike knowning where missile was downed sure the civilian if any casualty would have been a minus over the now praganda Iran now has going for them. pastn Presidents like the Bush family would've never allowed this to be happening but remember a sometimes degisive man in charge but 90 percent we have the clone of Jimmy Carter back as president, myself still being in a home defense unit feel real sick still knowning this man our commander in chief
There is also a report that a drone went down in Seychelles and the Air Force is investigating. But of even more importance is the following, reported by Fox:
The Mideast - WORLD
Iranian Official Threatens Military Drill Sealing Off the Strait of Hormuz
Published December 13, 2011
Reuters
A high-ranking Iranian official has said Iran's military will practice sealing off the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil transport channel, in a provocative move that illustrates Iran's capability of disrupting the world's oil supply.
The announcement Monday by Parviz Sarvari sent oil prices up about $3 to $100 a barrel based on the speculation of a disruption during the military drills, Bloomberg reported.
"Soon we will hold a military maneuver on how to close the Strait of Hormuz," Sarvari, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, said in a statement reported by Reuters. "If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure."
Iran has long used the threat of disrupting oil production as a main military deterrent, a sort of economic missile in its silo.
Although Sarvari did not name a specific country making the region insecure, though diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been on the rise recently over the U.S. drone that went down in Iran.
The report of the planned exercise in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest example of Iranian provocation. In September, Iran's navy laid out plans to move naval vessels out of the Persian Gulf and into the Atlantic Ocean "near maritime borders of the United States," the Tehran Times reported.
Iran also has faced international pressure for it's nuclear program. Iran insists the program is for peaceful uses, but in November, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report that Tehran has conducted secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of atomic weapons. Iran denies that charge.
About 15.5 million barrels of oil a day, about a sixth of global consumption, flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported, citing the U.S. Department of Energy.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/12/13/iranian-official-threatens-military-drill-sealing-off-strait-hormuz/#ixzz1gRkj3YbA
KingK - Iran will attempt to close the Straits if they are attacked by the US or Israel, as they should. Countries should know there is a price to be paid for naked aggression.
That report from the IAE, which you cited, came from a country, not from the IAEA itself. It most likely came from Israel, who will fabricate evidence and intelligence to suit their agenda. That agenda is getting the US involved in another war. They fabricated intelligence on Iraq, which was all false. See below:
London: The latest United Nations report on Iran's nuclear programme may not be the "game changer" it was billed to be, as some nuclear experts raise doubts about the quality of evidence — and point to lack of proof of current nuclear weapons work.
In a 14-page annex to its quarterly report on Iran released on Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said new intelligence and other data gave it "serious concern" about the allegedly peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. "It's very thin, I thought there would be a lot more there," says Robert Kelley, an American nuclear engineer and former IAEA inspector who was among the first to review the original data in 2005. "It's certainly old news; it's really quite stunning how little new information is in there."
The IAEA supplemented the laptop information with data from 10-member states, interviews on three continents, and its own investigations in Iran, Libya, Pakistan and Russia. Most of the weapons-related work it details was shut down nearly a decade ago — in 2003 — the IAEA says, and less formal efforts that "may" continue do not bolster arguments that Iran is a nation racing to have the bomb.
Iran "doesn't seem to have the same North Korea-like obsession with developing nuclear weapons. That's nowhere to be found in the [IAEA] evidence," says Shannon Kile, head of the Nuclear Weapons Project at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Iranian officials rejected the report as a product of Iran's enemies in the US, Israel and the West — purveyed through Yukiya Amano, the Japanese head of the IAEA — even before it was released.
The 2005 laptop documents focus on three areas: a so-called "green salt project" to provide a clandestine source of uranium; high-explosives testing; and reengineering a Shahab-3 missile to fit a nuclear warhead.
News reports at the time indicated deep scepticism, when some of the laptop contents were first shown to diplomats accredited to the IAEA. In many quarters, doubt still persists. Recognising such scepticism, one portion of the IAEA report was devoted to addressing the credibility of the information. But Robert Kelly, the former IAEA inspector who also served as a department director at the agency, remains unconvinced.
"The first is the issue of forgeries. There is nothing to tell that those documents are real," says Kelley, whose experience includes inspections from as far afield as Iraq and Libya, to South Africa in 1993.
"My sense when I went through the documents years ago was that there was possibly a lot of stuff in there that was genuine, [though] it was kind of junk," says Kelly. "And there were a few rather high-quality things" like the green salt document: "That was two or three pages that wasn't related to anything else in the package, it was on a different topic, and you just wondered, was this salted in there for someone to find?"
It would not be the first time that data was planted. He recalls 1993 and 1994, when the IAEA received "very complex forgeries" on Iraq that slowed down nuclear investigations there by a couple of years.
"Those documents had markings on them, and were designed to resemble Iraqi documents, but when we dug into them they were clearly forgeries," adds Kelley.
Apology? The only apology that should be done is to the Palestinians for giving their rightful land to a wandering group of homeless. The middle east would already be and bunch of westernized democracies living large on oil money if the Imams couldn't rally the brainwashed Muslim youths in the name of Allah against the Israelis.
If I had anything to do with the design of this drone I would have added some sort of safety device that would destroy all classified equipment on board if comunications was ever lost or any out of the ordinary commands were not met. Or simply crash the thing. It could easily be done.
Iran should do unto us what we are doing to them, and see if we would like it!.. why don't we seek peace, what have the Iranian people done to us?. we Just finished slaughtered 2000,000 Iraqis for their oil, we are planning to do the same in Syria, by using the puppet in the UN again, we murder Gaddafi, we kill hundreds of Panamanians to go get one of our CIA spy who wouldn't help us overthrow Castro, Are we proud of our dirty murderous records?..
I am not!.
Keep spying, we're not intimidated by the arrogant a$$wipes. We sure haven't received any apology from these pigs for storming our embassy and holding our citizens hostage for over a year. Iran isn't nothing but another trash dump.
I suggest you go learn your history, and you may come back sounding like some one who understand that not all people wanted to have stranger trying to take over their country, through proxy installing of governments!.
Hey Cottontop, did we apologize to the Iranians for overthrowing their democratically elected leader and installing the Shah in 1953? That is what led to the eventual storming of our embassy. We started the mess by meddling in Iran's internal affairs in order to get at their oil. No one in our embassy was killed, but many opponents of the despotic Shah were killed and tortured.
Many in the embassy were agents or spies.
All this hatred of Iran is generated by Israeli propaganda in our Zionist controlled media. The crap they spew is targeted for fools who will not research the truth behind the stories and take them at face value.
The business of the US government is to meddle in others’ affairs
to bring havoc for its own innocent citizens.