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According to Iranian official television, an Iranian naval flotilla temporarily detained two American military unmanned research vessels in the Red Sea before releasing them.
In the Red Sea on Thursday while on a counter-terrorism mission, the Iranian navy’s “Jamaran warship intercepted six American military unmanned research vessels,” according to state TV.
The flotilla “seized the two drone vessels to prevent possible incidents after twice notifying an American destroyer,” it was said.
The official television continued, presenting footage that appeared to show the two US ships being released by Iranian forces on board a ship, “After safeguarding the passage of international shipping, the flotilla released the two vessels in a secure place.”
The US Navy said that its ships have been around the southern Red Sea for more than 200 days and were collecting pictures of the area.
The Iranian ship was spotted by the US Navy at roughly 2:00 p.m. (local time) on September 1 approaching both unmanned vessels and removing them from the water, according to a statement from the US Navy.
The statement also said that two adjacent destroyers, the USS Nitze and USS Delbert D. Black, “remained on scene communicating with the Iranian cruiser to deescalate the situation.”
The statement claims that the US Navy ships were freed the following morning about 8 am.
A US Navy patrol boat and helicopter were sent to the area in a separate, earlier incident, according to the Pentagon on Tuesday, when an Iranian ship took an American military drone craft hostage in the Gulf before releasing it.
A support ship from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the Shahid Baziar, was reportedly seen late on Monday towing the seven-meter-long (23-foot-long), unmanned surface vehicle (USV), Saildrone Explorer.
Following that, US Marines dispatched an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter and the USS Thunderbolt, a coastal patrol ship.
The 5th Fleet said that as a result, the IRGCN vessel “resulted in the IRGCN vessel disconnecting the towing connection to the USV and left the region roughly four hours later” without additional incident.
Separately on Thursday, the Iranian Navy claimed that the same flotilla had stopped a pirate attack on an Iranian merchant ship in the region.
According to a statement from the navy, “a suspicious boat with 12 armed personnel on board approached the Iranian commerce ship in the Bab al-Mandab” strait on Thursday, according to the state news agency IRNA.
It stated that a squadron had a run-in with “pirates in the Red Sea,” and that the invading craft “left the region” after the escort flotilla, “led by the Jamaran destroyer… opened fire.”
On August 10, a top Iranian navy commander claimed that the same flotilla had prevented a nocturnal attack on another vessel belonging to the Islamic republic.
When the Iranian ship in the Red Sea requested assistance, the flotilla was sent to the area and engaged the enemy boats in fire, according to Rear Admiral Mustafa Tajeddini at the time.
The invading boats escaped after a number of tense clashes, he continued.
Iran increased its naval presence in the Gulf of Aden following a spate of attacks by Somalia-based pirates between 2000 and 2011 along with other nations reliant on the shipping lane through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
