Iran says it warns off US Navy "spy plane" in its airspace

Iran said its naval forces have detected an unauthorised entry by a US Navy "spy plane" into the country's airspace and warned off the aircraft, state media reported.

After receiving the Iranian naval forces' warning, the US Navy's EP-3E aircraft, flying above the Sea of Oman, left the country's airspace and returned to international air routes, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the public relations department of the Iranian Army's Navy as saying on Sunday.

There was no immediate comment from the US, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Lockheed EP-3 is an electronic signals reconnaissance variant of the P-3 Orion, operated by the US Navy.