Ayatollah Khamenei speaking to Iranian air force commanders during a ceremony in Tehran today. (EPA)
A member of Iran’s revolutionary guard pointing at the U.S. RQ-170 unmanned spy drone as he speaks with Amirali Hajizadeh (R), a revolutionary guard commander, (REUTERS)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state TV has broadcast footage allegedly extracted from the advanced CIA spy drone captured in 2011, the latest in a flurry of moves from Iranian authorities meant to underline the nation’s purported military and technological advances.
The alleged footages comes as Iran’s supreme leader strongly rejected proposals for direct talks with the United States, effectively quashing suggestions for a breakthrough one-on-one dialogue on the nuclear standoff and potentially other issues.
The statement posted on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website echoes previous remarks opposing bilateral talks with Washington in parallel with stop-and-start nuclear negotiations with world powers, including the US, which are scheduled to resume later this month.
But the latest comments marked Khamenei’s first reaction since the idea of direct talks received a high-profile boost earlier this week from US Vice President Joe Biden during a security summit in Munich attended by Iran’s foreign minister.
As Iran’s supreme leader rejected the idea of one on one talks with the US, its state broadcaster aired an aerial view from a captured US drone 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.
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.
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.
Also in the footage are 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.”
“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.
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.
The latest Sentinel footage came as the U.S. tightened sanctions to pressure the Iranian government to limit its nuclear program while simultaneously suggesting direct talks between the US and Iran.
Khamenei’s statement rejecting the talks also could spill over into the negotiations in Kazakhstan later this month between Iran and a six-nation group comprising the permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany. His apparent references to US sanctions — saying Washington was “holding a gun” to Iran — suggests Iranian envoys will likely stick to demands for relief from the economic pressures before considering any nuclear concessions.
“They say the ball is in Iran’s court. The ball is in your court,” said Khamenei. “You have to be accountable and explain what it means to offer talks while simultaneously continuing pressure and threats.”
“Talks will not solve any problems,” Khamenei said in the statement posted Thursday following a meeting with air force commanders.
“You are holding a gun against Iran saying, ‘Talks or you’ll fire.’ The Iranian nation will not be frightened by such threats,” he added in apparent reference to US sanctions over Iran’s nuclear efforts.
Washington has indicated in the past that it’s prepared to talk directly with Iran on the nuclear issue, but so far nothing has come of it. Meanwhile, the wider talks between Iran and world powers have made little headway. Three rounds last year ended in stalemate with Tehran pushing for a roll back of Western sanctions in exchange for any key concessions on its nuclear program.
The West and allies fear that Iran’s uranium enrichment labs could eventually produce weapons-grade material. The Islamic Republic claims it only seeks nuclear fuel for energy reactors and medical applications.
The US and Iran broke ties after the storming of the American Embassy in Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranian militants held 52 American hostages for 444 days.
“I am not a diplomat. I am a revolutionary and I express my words honestly,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
He noted that some factions inside Iran seek the direct US talks due to their “naivety.” He did not elaborate, but called for the need to challenge US efforts to return “domination” over Iran — a reference to the pro-Western shah that was toppled by the Islamic Revolution.
“Talk is meaningful if it is based on goodwill, equal standing and when both sides do not want to apply tricks,” said Khamenei. “Talk as a tactic, a gesture of superpower, is only a deceptive move.”
Khamenei, however, has shown some flexibility in the past over contacts with Washington. Iran and the US have taken part in talks regarding Iraq and Afghanistan.
With Associated Press