The Iranian Navy reportedly seized two US unmanned drone vessels for a brief period in the Red Sea before releasing them, in the second such incident this week.
According to state TV, the Iranian navy’s “Jamaran destroyer encountered several American military unmanned research vessels on the international shipping route on Thursday while carrying out a counter-terrorism mission in the Red Sea.”
It added that the navy, “after warning an American destroyer twice, seized the two drone vessels to prevent possible accidents”.
The navy then released two vessels in a safe area after securing the passage of international shipping, the state broadcaster said, while airing the clip of the two purported US vessels being released by Iranian forces on board a ship, AFP reported.
Confirming the development, the US Navy said its drone vessels were taking pictures of the surrounding environment and had been in the vicinity of the southern Red Sea for more than 200 days.
“At around 2 pm (local time) on Sept. 1, U.S. 5th Fleet detected the Iranian ship approaching both unmanned vessels and removing them from the water,” the US Navy said in a statement.
The statement added that the two destroyers operating nearby—the USS Nitze and USS Delbert D. Black—”remained on scene communicating with the Iranian warship to de-escalate the situation”.
The statement further stated that the US Navy vessels were released at around 8 am the following day.
The recent incident comes in the backdrop of nuclear negotiations with Iran that appear to be faltering.
The US said it received Iran’s response to the European Union’s framework to restore the nuclear deal, but officials in a statement termed Iran’s response as ” not constructive.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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