Iranian jet fires on US military drone, Pentagon says Joel Saget / AFP - Getty Images file A Predator drone passed over at a U.S. base near Kandahar, Afghanistan. By Courtney Kube, NBC News An Iranian jet fired on a U.S. military drone, Pentagon officials said Thursday -- the first time such an action has been acknowledged by the United States. At 4:50 a.m. EDT on Nov. 1, an Iranian SU-25 Frog Foot jet fired on a U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone that was conducting routine surveillance in international waters over the Arabian Gulf, Pentagon spokesman George Little said. The unarmed Predator was approximately 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast when the Iranian jet began firing, he said. The SU-25 made several passes around the Predator, firing at least two bursts of gunfire, the Pentagon said. The manned Iranian jet followed the Predator for several miles before turning away. The drone returned safely to base and wasn't hit by the Iranian gunfire. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were notified of the incident early that morning, the Pentagon said. The White House would not comment on the incident, but a senior administration official confirmed to NBC News that Obama was told the day of the incident. Little said that the Predator was never in Iranian airspace. Asked whether the Iranian jet was firing warning shots, Little said the jet "fired to take it down." He would not speculate on whether this constitutes an act of war. The United States informed the Iranians that the U.S. military will continue surveillance flights over the international waters of the Arabian Gulf. Little said that was communicated by the State Department through Swiss officials. Asked why the incident is just being revealed now -- more than one week after the incident and just two days after the presidential election -- Little said that the Pentagon does not talk about classified missions. He said that the information had been leaked to the media so he is acknowledging it. "There is absolutely no precedent" for an incident like this, he said. NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker contributed to this report.