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Iran Claims It Shot Down US Spy Plane


An Iranian lawmaker says Iran's Revolutionary Guard has shot down an unmanned U.S. spy plane that was attempting to collect information about an underground uranium enrichment site.

Iran's state TV-run Youth Journalists Club on Wednesday quotes MP Ali Aghazedah Dafsari as saying the elite military group shot down the aircraft as it was flying near the Fordu site around the holy city of Qom. The report did not say when the Revolutionary Guards shot down the plane. There has been no comment from U.S. officials.

The report comes a day after Iran said it was installing new centrifuges aimed at speeding up its enrichment of nuclear material.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday the new equipment will bring more speed and better quality to the process.

He also reiterated that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The United States and other Western countries believe Iran is enriching uranium to develop nuclear weapons.

The United States, European Union and the United Nations all have imposed sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend its enrichment of uranium, a process that can be used for civilian and military purposes.

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