Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had seized an unmanned vessel in the Persian Gulf but the fifth fleet secured its release A US navy image shows the Iranian Revolutionary Guard ship towing the Saildrone Explorer. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized an American sea drone in the Persian Gulf and tried to tow it away, only releasing the unmanned vessel when a US navy warship and helicopter approached, according to US officials. The incident on Tuesday marks the first time the navy’s Middle East-based fifth fleet’s new drone taskforce has been targeted by Iran. US says clashes with Iran-backed militias won’t affect Tehran nuclear talks Read more While the interception ended without incident, tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran as negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers hang in the balance. The Guard’s Shahid Baziar warship attached a line to the Saildrone Explorer in the central part of the Persian Gulf in international waters late on Monday night, said Cmdr Timothy Hawkins, a fifth fleet spokesman. The vessel then began towing the Saildrone Explorer, which carries cameras, radars and sensors for remotely monitoring the sea, Hawkins said. The USS Thunderbolt, a navy coastal patrol boat, as well as an MH-60 Seahawk helicopter, moved to shadow the Guard’s ship. The navy called the Shahid Baziar by radio to identify the drone as American, Hawkins said. “Our response was one that as such made clear that this was US government property and was operating in international waters and that we had every intention to take action if necessary,” the commander told the Associated Press. Hawkins said the incident ended peacefully after some four hours as the Iranians unhooked the tow line to the drone and left the area as the American forces were nearby.
via guardian: US navy intervenes after Iran intercepts American sea drone