US President Barack Obama should apologise for sending an unmanned spy plane into Iranian territory rather than asking for it back after it was seized, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. Iran announced on December 4 it had downed the spy plane in the eastern part of the country, near Afghanistan. It has since shown the plane on television and said it is close to cracking its technological secrets.
On Monday, Obama told a news conference: "We have asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond." Iranian officials had already said they would not return the drone. "It seems that (Obama) has forgotten that our air space was violated, a spying operation conducted and international law trampled," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference.
"Instead of an official apology for the offence they have committed, he is raising such a demand. America must know that the violation of Iran's air space can endanger world peace and security." Parliament issued a resolution calling the drone incursion "evidence of international terrorism and a blatant violation of international law by the aggressor America," and said Iran might seek reparations from Washington. Iran has already complained to the UN Security Council about the incursion, calling for action to "put an end to these dangerous and unlawful acts".