TEHRAN — Iran said Monday it has successfully tested its own version of a US-made drone based on one it captured in 2011.
State TV quoted General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the aerospace division of the elite Revolutionary Guard, as saying the test was carried out earlier in the day.
‘‘As we promised earlier this year, a test flight of the Iranian version of the RQ-170 was carried out and a video will be released soon,’’ he said. Iran had displayed the drone earlier this year.
Iran has said that it managed to reverse-engineer the RQ-170 Sentinel, seized in December 2011 after it entered Iranian airspace from neighboring Afghanistan and that it is capable of launching its own production line for the unmanned aircraft.
Iran says it has captured several American drones in recent years, including a Boeing-designed ScanEagle drone — a less sophisticated aircraft — after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf. Tehran says it is also copying the ScanEagle and plans to put its version into service.
Iran has accused the United States of using drones to spy on the country’s nuclear program.
In Oman on Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif of Iran and European Union senior adviser Catherine Ashton to discuss an agreement to curb the nuclear program.