(Image source: Sepahnews/CTV)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

What do you do when someone has something very valuable of yours?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (VIDEO FROM CBS): “We have asked for it back. We’ll see how the Iranians respond.”

The “it” in this case -- one of the U.S.’s most sophisticated spy planes. And Monday, Washington said it wants it back.

Iran’s response?

According to Iran’s state-run Press TV, that’s “out of the question”:

“The White House must face the consequences of violating Iran's airspace and not request its drone back...”

And check out this headline from Iran’s FARS News Agency: “Obama Begs Iran to Give Him Back His Toy Plane”

On top of that -- Iran’s defense minister is demanding an apology from Washington, according to the Associated Press. Complicating things:

The Jerusalem Post is reporting, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran can control the drone.

But CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend doesn’t think that’s likely.

“They first said they shot it down. Any claims by the Iranians that can can control the drone and force it to land, we ought to view with a good deal of skepticism. It's not clear they have such technology.”

This all started last week, RT reports, when Iranian officials announced they had a U.S. drone.

“Iranian forces have shot down an American unmanned drone in the east of the country, that’s according to Iran’s state news agency. The aircraft used for spying was reportedly downed with little damage and seized by Iranian authorities.”

But most western analysts agree Washington probably isn’t gonna get the drone back. Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said it’s unlikely. And President Obama’s Republican critics have wasted no time slamming his administration’s response.

Here’s Fox News with former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton.

BOLTON: “I thought he looked weak and a little silly. The Iranians are not going to give us the drone back, at least not until they have explored it totally -- if ever. And it does put us in the position of being a beggar. If Iran wanted to do something nice they could give it back and their own.”

But writing for NPR, Scott Neuman says -- Iran probably won’t get much out of the aircraft anyway.

“...many experts say the loss of the RQ-170 Sentinel drone … may have more value as propaganda than as a treasure trove of technological secrets. … The Sentinel also might not necessarily represent the most cutting-edge technology because such systems can take years from inception until they are operationally viable...”