US Navy stops Iranian revolutionary guards stealing drone vessel

The US Navy has foiled an Iranian attempt to steal an unmanned American vessel in the Persian Gulf, threatening renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The US Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, reported that a ship belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a US-designated terrorist group, tried to seize an American Saildrone Explorer in international waters on Monday. Night vision video released by the US Navy showed the IRGC ship towing the drone vessel, which has cameras, radar and sensors for remote monitoring, before it was intercepted by a US helicopter and patrol boat.

Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, said the USS Thunderbolt flanked by a MH-60 Seahawk helicopter shadowed the IRGC’s warship, the Shahid Baziar, and called the Iranian vessel on the radio to inform it that the drone was an American vessel. “Our response 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,” Hawkins said.

After a stand-off lasting four hours, the incident ended peacefully when the Iranians released the drone.

The IRGC, a branch of the Iranian military with huge political power that operates under the direct command of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not acknowledged the incident. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, said the IRGC’s actions were “flagrant, unwarranted and inconsistent with the behaviour of a professional maritime force”.

 “US naval forces remain vigilant and will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows while promoting rules-based international order,” Cooper said.

The Biden administation alongside world powers are seeking to revive the Iran nuclear deal to curb the country’s uranium enrichment programme but have hit a diplomatic impasse with Tehran. Since President Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018, Iran has rapidly expanded its uranium stockpile.

Originally designed for long-range missions in extreme weather, the Saildrone is used to monitor the waters of the Gulf, the scene of frequent tensions and attacks over the years.