The US military has said a missing unmanned spyplane was involved in a joint CIA military operation on Afghanistan's border with Iran. The Pentagon has admitted the RQ 170 Sentinel drone is lost somewhere in Iran. But the US disputes Iranian claims to have shot down the state-of-the-art spy aircraft.
An unverified report on Iranian state radio has claimed that the US drone was flying deep inside the country's airspace, over the eastern town of Kashmar, some 140 miles (225km) from the Afghan border.
News of the CIA involvement is causing controversy in Washington. Congressman Dennis Kucinich told Sky News the involvement of America's spy agency was a worrying development. "We have to be very careful that we don't stumble into a wider war here. If we are in Iran's airspace with anything that belongs to the US, that's a provocation," he said.