{"id":37958,"date":"2022-09-02T17:32:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T17:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/02\/iran-briefly-seizes-2-us-navy-sea-drones-in-red-sea-amid-tensions\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:08:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:08:42","slug":"iran-briefly-seizes-2-us-navy-sea-drones-in-red-sea-amid-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/unmanned\/2022\/09\/02\/iran-briefly-seizes-2-us-navy-sea-drones-in-red-sea-amid-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran briefly seizes 2 US Navy sea drones in Red Sea amid tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>[Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated late Friday afternoon to include a statement from the U.S. Navy.]<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DUBAI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 Iran\u2019s navy seized two American sea drones in the Red Sea before letting them go Friday after U.S. destroyers and helicopters responded, officials said. It was the second such maritime incident in less than a week involving the Navy\u2019s new drone fleet in the Mideast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iranian state television aired footage it said came from the deck of the Iranian navy\u2019s Jamaran destroyer, where lifejacket-wearing sailors examined two Saildrone Explorers. They tossed one overboard as a U.S. warship could be seen in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State TV said the Iranian navy found \u201cseveral unmanned spying vessels abandoned in the international maritime routes\u201d Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2022\/08\/30\/us-navy-halts-iranian-boat-from-seizing-a-5th-fleet-unmanned-vessel\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7394252.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Navy halts Iranian boat from seizing a 5th Fleet unmanned vessel<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The 5th Fleet spotted the IRGCN support ship Shahid Baziar towing a Saildrone Explorer USV on Monday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter two warnings to an American destroyer to prevent possible incidents, Jamaran seized the two vessels,\u201d state TV said. \u201cAfter securing the international shipping waterway, the Naval Squadron No. 84 released the vessels in a safe area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It added: \u201cThe U.S Navy was warned to avoid repeating similar incidents in future,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Navy countered that the unarmed Saildrone Explorers, operating near one another in international waters, were \u201ctaking unclassified photos of the surrounding environment while loitering in an assigned patrol area at least four nautical miles from the nearest maritime traffic lane,\u201d according to the statement from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command\/U.S. Fifth Fleet public affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe vessels posed no risk to naval traffic and had been operating in the general vicinity of the Southern Red Sea for more than 200 consecutive days without incident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When U.S. 5th Fleet detected the Iranian destroyer removing the vessels from the water at about 2 p.m. local time Sept. 1, the destroyers Nitze and Delbert D. Black \u2014 and two MH-60R Sea Hawks from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 48 \u2014 responded to the incident. They called the Iranian destroyer over the radio and followed the vessel until it released the drones at 8 a.m. Friday, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Iran2.jpg_cd09d5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-80994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Iran2.jpg_cd09d5.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Iran2.jpg_cd09d5.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Iran2.jpg_cd09d5.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Iran2.jpg_cd09d5.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A U.S. Navy Saildrone Explorer unmanned sea drone navigates the Gulf of Aqaba on Feb. 9. (MC2 Dawson Roth\/Navy via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incident marks the second such incident in recent days as negotiations over Tehran\u2019s nuclear deal with world powers hang in the balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The earlier incident involved Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, not its regular navy, and occurred in the Persian Gulf. The Guard towed a Saildrone Explorer before releasing it as an American warship trailed it. Iran had criticized the U.S. Navy for releasing a \u201cHollywood\u201d video of the incident, only to do the same Friday in the Red Sea incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. 5th Fleet launched its unmanned Task Force 59 last year. Drones <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/naval\/2022\/05\/19\/whats-new-in-navy-and-marine-corps-unmanned-boats\/\" target=\"_blank\">used by the Navy<\/a> include ultra-endurance aerial surveillance drones, surface ships like the Sea Hawk and the Sea Hunter and smaller underwater drones that resemble torpedoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 5th Fleet\u2019s area of responsibility includes the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes. It also stretches as far as the Red Sea reaches near the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt leading to the Mediterranean, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The region has seen a series of maritime attacks in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Off Yemen in the Red Sea, bomb-laden drone boats and mines set adrift by Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels have damaged vessels amid that country\u2019s yearslong war. Near the United Arab Emirates and the Strait of Hormuz, oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces. Others have been attacked in incidents the Navy blames on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those attacks came about a year after then-President Donald Trump\u2019s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from Iran\u2019s nuclear deal, in which sanctions on Tehran were lifted in exchange for it drastically limiting its enrichment of uranium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Negotiations to revive the accord now hang in the balance. The U.S. cast doubt Friday on Iran\u2019s latest written response over the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels as officials openly suggest Tehran could build a nuclear bomb if it wishes to. Iran has maintained its program is peaceful, though Western nations and international inspectors say Tehran had a military nuclear program up until 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press journalist Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two U.S. Navy destroyers, as well as helicopters, responded and called the Iranian destroyer to release the drones, which they 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