WASHINGTON — Iranian warplanes fired at an unmanned American military surveillance drone in international airspace over the Persian Gulf last week, Pentagon officials disclosed Thursday, saying that while the aircraft was not hit, Washington made a strong protest to Tehran.
The shooting, which the Pentagon said occurred Nov. 1 — five days before the American presidential election — was the first known instance of Iranian warplanes firing on an American surveillance drone. George Little, the top Pentagon spokesman, attributed the weeklong official silence on the episode to restrictions on discussing classified surveillance missions.
But the episode — and the official silence about it until Thursday — raised questions about whether the delay had been meant to forestall a controversy before the election.
Word of the firing on the drone came against a backdrop of severe tensions between the United States and Iran, principally over the disputed Iranian nuclear program, which has led to heavy sanctions on Iran that have deeply afflicted the country’s economy — most notably its ability to do international financial transactions and to sell oil, the most important Iranian export. Further sanctions were announced on Thursday by Treasury and State Department officials.
At the same time, there has been some optimism that Mr. Obama, elected to a second term, might have some new political leverage to negotiate with Iran over the nuclear program, which the Iranians insist is meant for peaceful purposes. The United States and Israel have called the program a guise to create the ability to make nuclear weapons.
There was no immediate comment from Iran on the Pentagon disclosure about the drone.
Mr. Little said Iranian warplanes “fired multiple rounds” but missed the drone, a Predator, which has a unique silhouette similar to a giant, upside-down flying spoon, and it is not easily confused with a piloted jet fighter.
Officials declined to speculate about whether the Iranian pilots were trying to shoot down the drone or were simply firing warning shots. But one official briefed on the episode said the Iranian planes — identified as Soviet-made SU-25 jets known as Frogfoots — carry cannon for supporting ground troops and are not especially adept at air-to-air combat.
Mr. Little said the Predator was flying about 16 nautical miles from Iran while conducting a routine maritime surveillance mission. He stressed that Iran’s territorial limits extend 12 nautical miles from its shores, and that the drone never strayed into Iranian space.
Given the critical role of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in the international shipping of petroleum products, the American military conducts regular seaborne and aerial surveillance of those routes. Even so, the advanced sensor technology aboard the Predator is likely to have allowed it to get a detailed look at Iran even from the distance cited by Pentagon officials.
Mr. Little said a protest had been delivered to Iran via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which acts on behalf of American interests there, and that the Defense Department would not halt surveillance missions.
“The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters, over the Arabian Gulf, consistent with longstanding practice and our commitment to the security of the region,” Mr. Little said, using a name for the Persian Gulf that the Iranians have long rejected.
He cautioned Iran that the United States had “a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military, to protect our military assets and our forces in the region and will do so when necessary.”
Late last year, a C.I.A. surveillance drone crashed deep inside Iranian territory while on a mission that was believed to be designed to map suspected nuclear sites. While some Iranian officials said the drone was shot down or guided to land safely through electronic intervention of its guidance system, American officials said it had crashed after a technical malfunction.
Thom Shanker reported from Washington, and Rick Gladstone from New York.
The shooting, which the Pentagon said occurred Nov. 1 — five days before the American presidential election — was the first known instance of Iranian warplanes firing on an American surveillance drone. George Little, the top Pentagon spokesman, attributed the weeklong official silence on the episode to restrictions on discussing classified surveillance missions.
But the episode — and the official silence about it until Thursday — raised questions about whether the delay had been meant to forestall a controversy before the election.
Word of the firing on the drone came against a backdrop of severe tensions between the United States and Iran, principally over the disputed Iranian nuclear program, which has led to heavy sanctions on Iran that have deeply afflicted the country’s economy — most notably its ability to do international financial transactions and to sell oil, the most important Iranian export. Further sanctions were announced on Thursday by Treasury and State Department officials.
At the same time, there has been some optimism that Mr. Obama, elected to a second term, might have some new political leverage to negotiate with Iran over the nuclear program, which the Iranians insist is meant for peaceful purposes. The United States and Israel have called the program a guise to create the ability to make nuclear weapons.
There was no immediate comment from Iran on the Pentagon disclosure about the drone.
Mr. Little said Iranian warplanes “fired multiple rounds” but missed the drone, a Predator, which has a unique silhouette similar to a giant, upside-down flying spoon, and it is not easily confused with a piloted jet fighter.
Officials declined to speculate about whether the Iranian pilots were trying to shoot down the drone or were simply firing warning shots. But one official briefed on the episode said the Iranian planes — identified as Soviet-made SU-25 jets known as Frogfoots — carry cannon for supporting ground troops and are not especially adept at air-to-air combat.
Mr. Little said the Predator was flying about 16 nautical miles from Iran while conducting a routine maritime surveillance mission. He stressed that Iran’s territorial limits extend 12 nautical miles from its shores, and that the drone never strayed into Iranian space.
Given the critical role of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in the international shipping of petroleum products, the American military conducts regular seaborne and aerial surveillance of those routes. Even so, the advanced sensor technology aboard the Predator is likely to have allowed it to get a detailed look at Iran even from the distance cited by Pentagon officials.
Mr. Little said a protest had been delivered to Iran via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which acts on behalf of American interests there, and that the Defense Department would not halt surveillance missions.
“The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters, over the Arabian Gulf, consistent with longstanding practice and our commitment to the security of the region,” Mr. Little said, using a name for the Persian Gulf that the Iranians have long rejected.
He cautioned Iran that the United States had “a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military, to protect our military assets and our forces in the region and will do so when necessary.”
Late last year, a C.I.A. surveillance drone crashed deep inside Iranian territory while on a mission that was believed to be designed to map suspected nuclear sites. While some Iranian officials said the drone was shot down or guided to land safely through electronic intervention of its guidance system, American officials said it had crashed after a technical malfunction.
Thom Shanker reported from Washington, and Rick Gladstone from New York.