Iran Shows Footage of Purported US Drone

 　　Iranian state television on Thursday released the first images of what it said was a U.S. unmanned reconnaissance drone downed on Sunday along Iran's eastern border after it made a brief incursion into its airspace.

　　The footage shows Iranian military officials inspecting an aerial vehicle resembling a high-tech¹ RQ-170 Sentinel drone.  The vehicle appears to be in good shape and with no visible damage.

　　The chief of the aerospace² division of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, General Ami Ali Hajizadeh, said Iranian forces brought the drone down through a "cyber attack."  He said the drone "fell into the trap of electronic warfare³ unit" who then managed to land it with minimum damage.

　　Also Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry⁴ summoned the Swiss Ambassador to Tehran, Livia Leu Agosti, to protest the drone incident.  The U.S. and Iran do not have diplomatic relations, and Switzerland handles American interests in Iran.  The state television said that the ministry demanded an explanation and compensation from Washington.

　　U.S. officials have acknowledged the drone's loss and described the incident as a major setback⁵ to the stealth drone program.  They said there are real fears that the Iranians will share the drone technology with China or some other country, but also expressed doubts the Iranians have the expertise⁶ to recover any surveillance data from the aircraft.

　　The drone incident came at a time of heightened political tension over Iran's controversial nuclear program the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons.  The United States and Israel said they were considering "all options" on Tehran, if diplomacy⁷ fails to resolve the dispute.

　　During a news conference in Washington Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said Iran has a clear choice, to end its pursuit of atomic weapons in favor of a peaceful nuclear program or continue to resist global pressure and face increased isolation⁸.

　　Mr. Obama said "Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is contrary to U.S. security interests, as well as to the national interests of U.S. allies, including Israel, and Washington will work with the world community to prevent that."

　　Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

3 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。