The Iranian Navy seized two US Navy maritime drones in international waters in the Red Sea on Thursday.
The incident began on Thursday, when the Navy ship was observed
The US Navy quickly mobilized with two nearby destroyers and a helicopter, later communicating by radio to demand the return of the drones, added the official.
After this, Iran accepted the return, but they asked to wait until daylight on Friday for “security reasons”, so the US agreed, the official pointed out.
Although the drones were finally released, the official stated that the incident appears to be an escalation of hostile actions by Iran against the US
A similar incident was registered earlier this week in the Persian Gulf, said the official, who specified: “the fact that this happened two days after his failed attempt in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf seems to be an escalation.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s state television broadcast a video showing drones being pushed into the water from the deck of the Iranian warship, and affirmed that the Iranian Navy captured the drones while carrying out an anti-terrorist mission in the Red Sea.
“The destroyer Jamaran captured two ships on Thursday to avoid any possible accident. The two vessels were released after international shipping lanes were secured and a warning was issued to the US fleet,” state television reported.
The incident occurs amid a delicate moment between negotiations on a nuclear deal that could fail. The US State Department said on Thursday that Tehran’s latest response to a European Union proposal to revive the deal was “not constructive.”
The US official quoted by CNN said that non-professional interactions with the Iranian Navy are “rare”. When other non-professional incidents did occur, they generally involved Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) ships, not the regular Iranian Navy.
Non-professional interactions of IRGC ships and small boats with the The US Navy has been multiple in recent years.
With information from CNN
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