US Confirms Iran Fired on Drone

 PENTAGON — U.S. defense¹ officials have confirmed reports that Iranian fighter jets fired on a U.S. drone over the Persian Gulf² one week ago.

Pentagon officials are stopping short of calling it an act of war, but they said Thursday the United States has protested to Iran about the incident, which happened November 1 over international waters.

Defense Department spokesman George Little says the MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a Predator³ drone, was on a routine classified mission.

“An unarmed, unmanned MQ 1 US military aircraft conducting routine surveillance over the Arabian Gulf was intercepted⁴ by Iranian SU-25 Frogfoot aircraft and was fired upon with guns.  The incident occurred over international waters approximately 16 nautical⁵ miles [30 kilometers] off the Iranian coastline.  The MQ 1 was not hit and returned to its base safely,” Little said.

The United States routinely conducts surveillance missions over to Iran to check on nuclear facilities and other sites. 

The Pentagon says this is the first time Iran has fired on one of its drones.  Iran says it shot down an American unmanned aerial vehicle last year over Iranian territory.  U.S. officials say that aircraft landed unintentionally.

Officials say President Barack Obama was notified soon after the latest incident.

Confirmation⁶ of the incident comes more than week after it occurred, prompting reporters to ask whether the White House ordered disclosure of it withheld⁷ until after last Tuesday’s presidential elections had passed.

Little said the Defense Department does not typically comment on classified missions. He said the reports were leaked.

“Someone apparently⁸ disclosed this in an unauthorized manner, and that’s unfortunate,” Little said.

Pentagon officials on Thursday said they have made it clear to Iran that they are prepared to respond to Iranian aggression⁹, but did not say if they had any plans to retaliate¹⁰ for the incident. 

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

4 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

5 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

6 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

7 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

10 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。