TEHRAN
\nThe crew of an Iranian warship temporarily seized two US sea drones in international waters of the Red Sea. It was the second such incident this week involving Washington\u2019s unmanned surface vessels in the region.
\n\u201cThe frigate \u2018Jamaran\u2019 seized the two vessels on Thursday to prevent any possible accident after issuing warnings to the US fleet,\u201d Iranian state-run television reported. \u201cAfter international shipping lanes were secured, these two vessels were released in a safe area.\u201d
\nVideo footage that was reportedly shot from the deck of the frigate appeared to show Iranian sailors tossing one of two Saildrone Explorers overboard. \u201cThe US Navy was warned to avoid repeating similar incidents in future,\u201d the television report added.
\nAn unidentified Pentagon official told NBC News and other media outlets that two American destroyers that were operating nearby confronted the Iranian ship over the radio and followed it until the drones were released on Friday morning, about four hours after they had been taken. He alleged that Iranian sailors initially tried to cover up the drones with tarps and deny that they had them.
\nAccording to the Iranian report, Tehran\u2019s forces found \u201cseveral unmanned spying vessels abandoned in the international maritime routes.\u201d After two warnings to a nearby US destroyer went unheeded, two drones were seized \u201cto prevent possible accidents.\u201d
\nThe latest incident comes after the US Navy\u2019s Fifth Fleet issued a statement on Tuesday saying that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vessel was spotted towing an American Saildrone Explorer in the Persian Gulf. The IRGC disconnected its tow line and released the drone about four hours later, after being confronted by a US Navy patrol ship and helicopter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN The crew of an Iranian warship temporarily seized two US sea drones in international waters of the Red Sea. It was the second such incident this week involving Washington\u2019s unmanned surface vessels in the region. \u201cThe frigate \u2018Jamaran\u2019 seized the two vessels on Thursday to prevent any possible accident after issuing warnings to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n