An Iranian naval flotilla briefly captured two unmanned US warships in the Red Sea, state television said on Friday, AFP reported.
“The Jamaran destroyer of the Iranian Navy encountered several drones in an international sea lane on Thursday while carrying out an anti-terrorist mission in the Red Sea,” the television said, referring to operations against pirates in the area and in the Gulf of Aden.
He added that the flotilla, “after warning the American destroyer twice, seized these remote-controlled boats to prevent possible accidents.”
“After the international shipping lane was secured, the flotilla released the two boats,” the channel continued, showing video of the Iranian military freeing the two American vessels.
In a related incident, the Pentagon said Tuesday that an Iranian ship seized an unmanned U.S. warship in the Persian Gulf but released it after a U.S. Navy patrol ship and helicopter were dispatched to the scene.
Iran’s navy also said on Friday that the same flotilla thwarted a pirate attack on a merchant vessel in the Red Sea the day before, the second time in less than a month.
Like other countries that use the sea route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, Iran has increased its naval presence in the Gulf of Aden after a wave of attacks by Somali pirates between 2000 and 2011.
Source: Hot News RO
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