Iran says they have video shot by an unmanned drone showing a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)

Iran’s Arabic language television station broadcast footage it claimed showed a US aircraft carrier cruising in Gulf waters it said was taken by an unmanned Iranian drone.

The brief minute-long film, which was shown on Al-Alam television’s evening news bulletin, showed wobbly aerial footage of an aircraft carrier stacked with war planes as it sailed.

The television’s anchor said the film, the property of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, showed a vessel from “the US fleet in the Persian Gulf”.

“A source in the Revolutionary Guard said the drone carried out its mission without US fighter pilots reaching it,” the television said.

Here’s the photo. (Hat tip: Village Idiot’s Apprentice.)

Several LGF readers have emailed to say those are apparently F-14s on the port bow—and that fighter was retired in February 2006. It’s hard to tell from this photo, but if true it wouldn’t be the first time Iran has tried to float disinformation. Opinions, lizards?

UPDATE at 11/12/06 7:21:12 pm:

The Iranian video has been posted at Google Video:

UPDATE at 11/12/06 9:49:25 pm:

The consensus of our commenters: 1) they’re probably not F-14s, but F-18s and E2s, and 2) the resolution is too low to say with absolute certainty.