Iran presented on Thursday footage of the RQ-170 drone it claims to have shot down last week. The footage carried a caption reading "Advanced American spy drone."
The video, which aired on Iranian state-run TV, showed Major-General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF), being briefed on the drone's capabilities.
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In an interview with the Fars news agency, Hajizadeh said that the Iran had intelligence indicating the drone would be crossing into its airspace.
He said the UAV sustained "minimal damage" when it was shot down by the IRIAF, adding Iran "knows" that it was controlled by "ground stations in Afghanistan and America."
Hajizadeh stated that the Revolutionary Guards' military experts were "well aware of the valuable technological information on the aircraft."
Fars' report noted that the drone was equipped with advanced intelligence gathering systems for electronic signals, images, communications and radar.
Earlier, an Iranian MP said that Tehran plans to copy the drone's technology and use it to build similar UAVs.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has also summoned a delegate form the Swiss Embassy in Tehran to officially protest the breach of Iranian airspace.
The Swiss Embassy in Tehran represents the United States in Iran, since its own embassy in Tehran closed.