IRGC Commander: US was ill-informed on Iran’s electronic might

Revolutionary Guards Commander of Qom Ali ibn-Abitaleb Brigade said here Wednesday United States was ill-informed about Iran’s might in electronic field, which is why Iranian forces managed to bring down its stealth spy drone. According to IRNA, the Islamic Republic Guard Corps (IRGC) General Sardar Mahdi Mahdavinezhad, speaking at the Wednesday Ali ibn-Abitaleb Brigade officers’ meeting, added, “They had never assumed they would one day be faced with such a security and information scandal, because they were ill-informed about Iran’s electronic war capabilities and real might.” He termed the US President Barack Obama’s words on returning the US espionage drone’s as “comical”, arguing, “These words are clear sign for the heavy psychological burden on the shoulders of the US leaders.” According to the Public Relations of Qom IRGC, the provincial IRGC commander added, “With those words Obama showed to the entire international community the logic with which he rules over America.” Elsewhere in his address for the IRGC officers he pointed out that many top US military commanders have opined that the US invasions against Iraq and Afghanistan have been moves in vain, reiterating, “Those moves are signs of the US leaders’ thoughtlessness, and low IQ.” He added, “Crisis making for other countries has backfired inside the United States and today we see how deeply the imperialism system has got entangled with the broad scaled dimensions of the Wall Street movement.” Mahdavinezhad reiterated, “The enemies of Islam and Islamic Iran have realized how exalted, invaluable and grand the personality of the Supreme Leader is, and they know that his honor has influence over the hearts and minds of the world Muslims.” He added, “They must know that with the passage of each day the popularity and love of his eminence the leader increases around the globe and of course they must also know that the US leaders do not have any status even among their own nation.” Referring to the 2009 post-election sedition and the December 30th pro-Islamic system epical rally, he reiterated, “The sagacious and wise leadership of his eminence and the direct support of the people who are always present at the scene annulled the entire hatched plots and seditions of the internal and external enemies against this sacred system.” A week earlier, the US Department of Defense denied losing a drone, only for Iran authorities to in turn publish video proof of an American craft that they have recovered. The Pentagon later admitted that they lost contact with the drone while allegedly flying it over Afghanistan. But they later confessed that the drone was carrying a mission in Iran, prompting President Obama to ask Tehran to return the spy plane. Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, shot down Obama's plea, however. President Ahmadinejad told the Venezuelan TV last night, 'The Americans have perhaps decided to give us this spy plane. We now have control of this plane.' Ahmadinejad added that the Iranian authorities are able to make sense of the craft's complex technical system, perhaps providing a crucial addition to Iran's arsenal as tensions between Tehran and Washington intensify over the former's astonishing success in civilian nuclear technology. The US Department of Defense has remained relatively mum on the exact capabilities of the lost craft although insiders insist that the drone in question can sniff out chemicals in the sky and intercept cell phone transmissions miles in the sky while remaining undetected. The loss of the second drone within days raises questions about security within the US military and the unmanned crafts themselves. It was reported earlier this year that drones dispatched from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada were plagued with a computer virus that made its way into the cockpits of the crafts without American authorities able to quickly identify it. Even though US military officials claimed that the virus didn't harm the security of US aircraft, it is suspicious that now two American drones have been downed in only such a short amount of time, raising questions whether it is possible retaliation from Iran for an alleged cyber attack the year prior. Stuxnet, a 2010 computer worm that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, was suspected to be perpetrated by American intelligence agencies, much to their dismissal. In the case of the downed drone over Seychelles, authorities say that government officials of the island nation were 'immediately notified' and are coordinating an effort with the United States to arrange for 'the removal of debris,' says the US Air Force. Editor Gervais Henrie of the local Le Seychellois Hebdo told the Washington Post that the craft burst into blames upon crashing, describing the wreckage in a phone interview as charred and 'totally destroyed.' The MQ-9 Reaper has the capability of launching laser-guided bombs and air-to-ground missiles, although the DoD says the craft in question was not armed and no injuries resulted in the crash.