WATCH THE SKIES

'Flying saucer' flap grips Iran, theories abound

Is Iran about to be invaded by little green men or are the Americans racing through the night sky in spaceships to spy on the Islamic Republic?
Flying saucer fever has gripped Iran after dozens of sightings in the last few days.
State television on Wednesday showed a sparkling white disc it said was filmed over Tehran on Tuesday night.
More colorful UFOs have been spotted beaming out green, red, blue and purple rays over the northern cities of Tabriz and Ardebil and in the Caspian Sea province of Golestan, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Newspapers and agencies reported people rushing out into the streets in eight towns on Tuesday night to watch a bright light dipping in and out of the clouds.

But Sa'dollah Nasiri-Qeydari, head of the Astronomical Society of Iran, told Reuters the stories were unfounded. "In my opinion, flying saucers do not exist," he said, insisting his telescopes would have picked up invaders from outer space. "The people who have seen these things are not experts - farmers, villagers and pilots," he added. He said what people reported was consistent with the planet Venus.