{"id":45024,"date":"2023-02-21T20:32:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T20:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/02\/21\/us-navy-official-says-iran-has-attention-of-everyone\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:11:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:11:39","slug":"us-navy-official-says-iran-has-attention-of-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2023\/02\/21\/us-navy-official-says-iran-has-attention-of-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"US Navy official says Iran has \u2018attention of everyone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 Iranian attacks in the waterways of the Middle East and elsewhere in the region \u201chave the attention of everyone\u201d as tensions rise over Tehran\u2019s advancing nuclear program, the head of the U.S. Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper also told The Associated Press that he\u2019s seen a rise in what he described as Iran\u2019s \u201cmalign activities\u201d in the region over his two years leading the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Cooper pointed to recent seizures of weapons by American and allied forces in the region as a success, he acknowledged that Iran has been able to carry out drone attacks targeting shipping in the Mideast and other assaults in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re focused on expanding our partnerships,\u201d Cooper said on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi\u2019s International Defense Exhibition and Conference<\/a>. \u201cThe short answer is the Iranian actions have the attention of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran\u2019s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment over Cooper\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5th Fleet patrols the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil transits. Its region also stretches as far as the Red Sea up to the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt linking the Mideast to the Mediterranean Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Cooper\u2019s command, which will end with the upcoming arrival of Rear Adm. George Wikoff in Bahrain, likely later this year, the 5th Fleet vastly expanded its use of drones and artificial intelligence to patrol those waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper said the Navy has reached the halfway mark of his goal to have 100 unmanned drones<\/a>, both sailing and submersible, operating in the region with America\u2019s allies. The Navy also conducted a drill Monday with the United Arab Emirates with the systems, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But concerns about Iran have only grown in recent months as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels and has enough fissile material for several nuclear bombs if it chooses to build them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been several Iranian attacks on commercial shipping the region, including a still-murky drone assault on the tanker Campo Square on Feb. 10 that\u2019s been cited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran carried out that attack, which wounded no one on board, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran has denied targeting the vessel, though it has denied other attacks attributed to it<\/a> since the collapse of the nuclear deal following America\u2019s withdrawal from the accord in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously the nuclear component is all being handled via diplomatic means,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cI think over a two-year period, we have for sure seen an increase in the number of malign activities, much of which we\u2019ve been catching just in the last 60 to 90 days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t