Iran: Monkey to the Space, US Drones Viewed by Russians

The Islamic Republic of Iran plans to send a live monkey into space next month, the latest advance in a missile and space program.
The official IRNA news agency quoted the head of Iran's Space Agency as saying five monkeys were undergoing tests before one is selected for the flight on board a Kavoshgar-5 rocket.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last August that Iran planned to send a man into space by 2017.

Mean while, Iran announced that it has shown Russia U.S. drones it shot down over the Gulf.
"Russian experts requested to see these drones and they looked at both the downed drones and the models made by the Guards through reverse engineering," Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Hajizadeh did not elaborate on the number or type of unmanned U.S. aircraft it had shot down, or when or where it had done so.

Iran announced on January 2 that its forces had downed two U.S. drones after they violated Iranian territories. It later said it would put the aircraft on public display.
"The planes that were shot down are among the most modern U.S. navy drones and have a long-range capability," the Fars news agency quoted the commander of the Guards' naval forces, Ali Fadavi, as saying at the time.