Skip to main content

Navy stops Iran from taking US military drone in Arabian Gulf

The U.S. Navy stopped an Iranian ship from taking an American sea drone in the Arabian Gulf Monday night.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy was in the process of towing the drone, which belongs to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet at 11 p.m. local time when the American Navy immediately sent out the nearby Navy coastal ship USS Thunderbolt. The 5th Fleet also repeatedly called Iranian officials, who then let the drone go.

"IRGCN’s actions were flagrant, unwarranted and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force," Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said in a statement. "U.S. naval forces remain vigilant and will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows while promoting rules-based international order throughout the region."

In addition to sending the USS Thunderbolt, the U.S. Navy also sent an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from Sea Combat Squadron 26 based in Bahrain.

VICTIMS OF 1988 IRANIAN ‘DEATH COMMISSION’ FILE SUIT IN NYC AGAINST IRAN PRESIDENT RAISI

After disconnecting the towing line, the Iranian vessel, support ship Shahid Baziar, left the area about four hours later, U.S. Navy Forces Central Command Public Affairs said. The U.S. Navy then "resumed operations without further incident.

FORMER HEAD OF MOSSAD SAYS GROUP CARRIED OUT OPS IN ‘HEART OF IRAN’ TO CRIPPLE NUCLEAR PROGRAM\

The sea drone, a Saildrone Explorer, was not storing any sensitive or classified information, the Navy said. It was equipped with commercially available technology including sensors, radars, and cameras that the Navy said were for "navigation and data collection."

"The professionalism and competence of the crew of the USS Thunderbolt prevented Iran from this illegal action," U.S. CENTCOM Commander General Erik Kurilla said in a statement. "This incident once again demonstrates Iran's continued destabilizing, illegal, and unprofessional activity in the Middle East."



from Fox News https://ift.tt/NrHgKeb
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

China begins discouraging abortions and promoting fertility treatment as birth rate plummets

China will discourage abortions and take steps to make fertility treatment more accessible as part of efforts to boost one of the world's lowest birth rates , its National Health Authority said on Tuesday. Support measures from taxation and insurance to education and housing would be improved and implemented, with local governments encouraged to boost infant care services and family friendly workplaces, according to guidelines published on the authority's website. The authority said it would carry out reproductive health promotion to enhance public awareness while "preventing unintended pregnancy and reducing abortions that are not medically necessary." VIRUS TESTING THE NEW NORMAL AS CHINA STICKS TO ‘ZERO-COVID’ China's fertility rate of 1.16 in 2021 was far below the 2.1 OECD standard for a stable population and among the lowest in the world. The guidelines come as China's uncompromising "zero-COVID" policy of curbing outbreaks with strict co...

China reaffirms threat of military force to annex Taiwan

China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years. The lengthy policy statement issued by the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office and its news department followed almost a week of missile firings and incursions into Taiwanese waters and airspace by Chinese warships and air force planes. The actions have disrupted flights and shipping in a region crucial to global supply chains, prompting strong condemnation from the U.S., Japan and others. An English-language version of the Chinese statement said Beijing would "work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification." TAIWAN SAYS CHINA MILITARY DRILLS PART OF PLAN FOR IMPENDING INVASION "But we will not renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures. This is to ...

The rapid rise of 'red tourism' in China

Growing up in Guang'an, Zhang Yiwen always felt a closeness to late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who spent the first 15 years of his life in her home city in the country's western province of Sichuan.