Handout pictures obtained by AFP from Iranian State TV IRIB show what Iran says are debris from a downed US drone recovered inside its territorial waters, displayed by the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran. — AFP photos
TEHRAN: Iran’s state television broadcast images Friday of what it said was debris from a downed US drone recovered inside its territorial waters.
The television broadcast a short clip of a Revolutionary Guards general answering questions in front of some of the debris he said had been recovered after Thursday’s missile strike.
“The debris was floating. We recovered it from the sea inside our territorial waters,” said the general, whom the television did not identify.
He said other parts of the wreckage had sunk.
The television said the footage was shot at a Revolutionary Guards base, without specifying where.
The downing of the drone — which Washington insists was over international waters but Tehran says was within its airspace — came as Iran was already accused by Washington of carrying out attacks on tankers in the congested shipping lanes heading out of the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran denies any involvement.
The commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, Sean Kido, said a mine allegedly used in one of the attacks matched Iranian weaponry and that incriminating fingerprints had also been collected. — AFP