Photo: IRNA

Iranian foreign minister said that sections of the US military drone were retrieved in Iran's territorial waters.

"At 00:14 US drone took off from UAE in stealth mode & violated Iranian airspace. It was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (25°59'43"N 57°02'25"E) near Kouh-e Mobarak," Zarif wrote in his Twitter account on Friday.

He added: "We've retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down."

Earlier in a separate message, Zarif  slammed the recent US violation of the Iranian airspace, saying Iran will zealously defend skies, land and waters. 

"The US wages #EconomicTerrorism on Iran, has conducted covert action against us & now encroaches on our territory," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in his Twitter account on Thursday.

He added: "We don't seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land & waters."

"We'll take this new aggression to #UN & show that the US is lying about international waters," he reiterated.

At the early hours of Thursday, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) air force shot down an American spy drone, identified as RQ-4 Global Hawk, that had violated Iranian airspace in the Kuh Mubarak (Mubarak Mountain) region located at Hormuzgan province, south of the country, the IRGC's public relations department said in a statement.

RQ-4s typically fly at high altitude to conduct reconnaissance missions.