Iranian TV showed the unmanned "stealth" aircraft apparently undamaged

President Barack Obama has said the US government has requested that Tehran return the surveillance drone captured by Iran's military earlier this month.

Mr Obama said he would not comment on classified intelligence matters, but confirmed: "We have asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond."

Iranian TV broadcast pictures of the intact RQ-170 Sentinel last week.

Tehran said the aircraft was brought down using electronic warfare; Washington insisted it malfunctioned.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian state TV reported that military experts were in the final stages of recovering data from the drone.

A member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, Parviz Sorouri, said the information they extracted would be used to "file a lawsuit against the United States over the invasion" by the aircraft.

'Provocations'

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted that she did not think it likely that the drone would be returned.

"We are very clearly making known our concerns. We submitted a formal request for the return of our lost equipment, as we would in any situation. Given Iran's behaviour to date, we do not expect them to reply," she said.

She said that despite numerous "provocations" from Iran, the US would continue to pursue a "diplomatic approach".

The Revolutionary Guards, whose officers were filmed inspecting the drone on Thursday, said it crossed Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan and travelled 250km (155 miles) inside its airspace, before being brought down in a cyber attack.

However, US officials have said that intelligence assessments indicated that Iran neither shot down the aircraft nor used electronic warfare or cyber-technology to force it from the sky. They blamed a malfunction.

They are, however, concerned that Iran or its allies may be able to determine the chemical composition of the drone's radar-deflecting paint, or copy its engine, control systems, and sophisticated cameras and sensors, which allow it to monitor the ground from high altitude.

The Iranian government has sent a letter of protest to the United Nations, accusing the US of "provocative and secret actions" violating international law, and warning against any "repetition of such actions".

A former US official has said the Pentagon was using the drone to keep watch on Iran's controversial nuclear programme. Western powers believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, which it denies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16150384
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lol ...made they will wrap it up as a christmas present... anyway I think Iran has every right to study, exploit and sell all intel they can get from it.. I think China would be interested in it.. US took the gamble flying this baby over their land and they lost.. kinda scary that the US actually have these ultra advanced unmanned drones with no knowledge what these babies actually can do..

Lol!

The US has no-one to blame but itself here, they flew the drone over airspace that isn't theirs, and I fully expect the Iranians will try and make the most of the "capture" of this drone, maybe sell it to the chinese if they want it after Iran is done with it.

Hilarious. I hope they get all they can.

Good to see America hasn't changed it's stance on other people airspace. Malfunction, my arse

Looking forward to the documentary on how the drone was lost. Right now we just don't know. CIA says malfunction and crashed, Iranians say shot down then changed to 'cyber warfare team' brought it down. We can rule out crash or shot down as that clearly did not happen though being a glider it might have glided down and damaged the underbelly hence the Iranians only showing the top half. We know US military suppliers have come under cyber attack before and possible key logs planted by a state actor which could have undermined the encryption data. The Russians recently sold the Iranians mobile radar radiation detectors which might have helped the Iranians track down the drone. Militarily the US is not in the Chinese or Russian good books due to the US increasing it's Military potential close to them so it's likely they are providing the Iranians with some covert assistance. Maybe not directly but via North Korea and Syria.

This is a joke, right? To return a drone used to spy them?

Go Iran!

About time a country stands up to the US.

Or, you know, there's a chance that the thing is fake: http://the-diplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2011/12/09/irans-drone-fake/

I don't think we have to worry about a country which is so technologically backwards that it needs to import gasoline, despite having vast oil reserves.

lool.

Please return our drone that we used to to spy on you, violating your airspace and breaking international law. Pretty please?