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Stealth Drone Highlights Tougher U.S. Strategy on Iran
(Washington Post) Joby Warrick and Greg Miller - The CIA's use of surveillance drones over Iran reflects a growing belief within the Obama administration that covert action and carefully choreographed economic pressure may be the only means of coercing Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, current and former U.S. officials say. The stealth drone that came down in eastern Iran last week was part of a fleet of secret aircraft that the CIA has used for several years in an escalating espionage campaign targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. While endorsing the increased use of sanctions, U.S. officials also are growing increasingly aware of the limits of such measures. A congressional study released this week suggested that Iran has managed to limit the damage to its economy from international sanctions - in part because of immense profits gained from near-record oil prices in recent years. The study warns that harsher sanctions targeting Iran's petroleum and banking industries could drive oil prices still higher.