Iran has shot down 'official request' from the United States that its spy drone that went astray in Iranian territory, underscoring that the Americans violated the Islamic Republic's airspace while attempting to gather intelligence.

In a statement that seems to taunt U.S. President Barack Obama, the Iranian government, through the Fars News Agency, claimed that "Obama begs Iran to give him back his toy plane."

Yet Tehran has earlier insisted that it will keep the plane as declared this week by a high-ranking official of the elite Revolutionary Guard.

That stance was echoed by Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Monday when he announced that "the American espionage drone is now Iran's property, and our country will decide what steps to take regarding it," as reported by BBC.

"Instead of apologizing to the Iranian nation, (the U.S.) is brazenly asking for the drone back," Vahidi reportedly added in a story ran by Yahoo News.

Like us on Facebook

Media reports carried by major Iranian news agencies have been dominated by the capturing of the RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone, with majority of the stories hailing the development as a boost for Iran while assailing America at the same for its actuations before and after the news broke.

"We are still wondering how (Obama) shamelessly asked Tehran to give the US back the stealth drone which had violated the Iranian airspace for espionage," Iran's Fars News Agency reportedly lambasted the U.S. president who admitted on Monday that he transmitted such a request.

"We've asked for it back ... and we'll see how the Iranians respond," Obama was reported by Yahoo News as saying.

Iran's pronouncements came as alleged agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were formally charged this week in Tehran while in Lebanon, Hezbollah has reportedly disclosed the names of persons the organisation claimed were spies working for the U.S. and Israel.

According to the Associated Press, 15 individuals have been indicted of espionage in Iran though statements provided by Tehran carried sketchy details on the conditions of the suspected spies.

AP has also reported that Hezbollah, a group regarded by the American group as terrorists, revealed the identities of alleged spies it apprehended, including the details of their operations.

The only official U.S. reaction regarding the development was a statement issued by the CIA, which stressed that "agency does not, as a rule, address spurious claims from terrorist groups."

On its statement, the spy agency dismissed the reports furnished by Hezbollah while noting that as a group that embraces the use of violence on its agenda, its credibility remains in question in the eyes of the international community.

To contact the editor, e-mail: