‘Russia to stop any attack on Iran’

Russia: Russia will try to stop any military attack on Iranian nuclear facilities as any threat to the Islamic Republic is a problem for Moscow, a Russian military expert told Press TV. Vladimir Yevseyev, the director of the Russian Center for Socio-Political Studies, told Press TV on Saturday that “a military attack against Tehran will be a serious problem for Russia, because Caucasus and Central Asia are strategic regions for Russia.”

He also described the downing of a US spy drone by Iran’s Army a great achievement, saying the United States has violated Iran’s airspace which is against the international law.

Yevseyev added that Russia will also intercept any drones if they want to enter the Russian territory, noting that Russia can use the Iranian experience in downing the US drone.

He also called for closer cooperation between Tehran and Moscow to solve the regional problems.

Iranian Army’s electronic warfare unit successfully brought down the US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft with minimal damage on Sunday, December 4, 2011. The aircraft was flying over the northeastern Iran city of Kashmar, some 225 kilometers (140 miles) away from the Afghan border.

On December 6, two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the drone had been part of a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) espionage mission, involving the US intelligence community stationed in Afghanistan.

They said the reconnaissance capability of the drone enabled it to gather information from inside Iran by flying along Afghanistan’s border with the Islamic Republic. The RQ-170 is designed and developed by the US Lockheed Martin Company.

AFP