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US Navy Says Iran Seized, Later Let Go of American Sea Drone

The US 5th Fleet is operating the Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in the Arabian Gulf. (AFP)
The US 5th Fleet is operating the Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in the Arabian Gulf. (AFP)
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US Navy Says Iran Seized, Later Let Go of American Sea Drone

The US 5th Fleet is operating the Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in the Arabian Gulf. (AFP)
The US 5th Fleet is operating the Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in the Arabian Gulf. (AFP)

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized an American sea drone Tuesday in the Arabian Gulf and tried to tow it away, only releasing the unmanned vessel when a US Navy warship and helicopter approached, officials said.

The incident marks the first time the Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet's new drone task force has been targeted by Iran.

While the interception ended without incident, tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran as negotiations over Tehran’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 Gulf in international waters late Monday night, said Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a 5th 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.

US Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, who leads the military’s Central Command, praised the Thunderbolt’s crew for its response.

“This incident once again demonstrates Iran’s continued destabilizing, illegal and unprofessional activity in the Middle East,” he said in a statement

Iran's paramilitary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, did not acknowledge the incident. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 5th Fleet launched its unmanned Task Force 59 last year. The 5th Fleet's area of responsibility includes the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes.

It also stretches as far as the Red Sea reaches near the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt linking the Mideast to the Mediterranean, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.

It also represents a region that has seen a series of at-sea attacks in recent years. Off Yemen, bomb-laden drone boats and mines set adrift by Yemen’s Houthi militias have damaged vessels amid that country’s yearslong war. Near the United Arab Emirates and the Strait of Hormuz, oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces. Others have been attacked in incidents the Navy blames on Iran.

Those attacks followed about a year after then-President Donald Trump's 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from Iran's nuclear deal, which saw sanctions on Tehran lifted in exchange for its drastically limiting its enrichment of uranium.

Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels as officials openly suggest Tehran could build a nuclear bomb if it chose. Iran has maintained its program is peaceful, though Western nations and international inspectors say Tehran has a military nuclear program up until 2003.

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Ukraine Will Send Team to US Next Week for Talks on New Draft Mineral Deal

Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's Minister of Economy answers on journalists questions during an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's Minister of Economy answers on journalists questions during an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
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Ukraine Will Send Team to US Next Week for Talks on New Draft Mineral Deal

Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's Minister of Economy answers on journalists questions during an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)
Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's Minister of Economy answers on journalists questions during an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP)

Ukraine will send a team to Washington next week to begin negotiations on a new draft of a deal that would give the US access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told The Associated Press.

“The new draft agreement from the US shows that the intention to create a fund or jointly invest remains,” Svyrydenko said Saturday, during a trip to northern Ukraine.

The delegation from Kyiv will include representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Finance.

The long-running negotiations over a mineral deal have already strained relations between Kyiv and Washington. The two sides had been preparing in February to sign a framework agreement but the plan was derailed following a contentious meeting in the Oval Office between US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After some Ukrainian lawmakers leaked the new draft, critics slammed it as little more than an attempt to strip Kyiv of control over its own natural resources and infrastructure. According to the leaked document, the new draft includes not only rare-earth minerals but gas and oil.

Ukraine holds significant deposits of more than 20 minerals deemed strategically critical by the US, including titanium, which is used to make aircraft wings, lithium, key to several battery technologies, and uranium, used in nuclear power.

New draft only gives the US side of the deal Despite the disruption following the Oval Office meeting, Ukrainian officials showed interest in signing the framework deal at any time, seeing it as an important step to win the favor of President Donald Trump and shore up US backing in the war against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

After weeks of silence on the status of the deal, the US sent a new draft to Kyiv, which goes further than the original framework.

It’s unclear why the US chose to bypass the signing of the framework deal and instead moved forward with a more comprehensive draft agreement, which would likely require ratification by Ukraine’s parliament.

However, Ukrainian officials have been cautious about commenting on the contents of the draft, stressing that it currently reflects only one side’s position.

“What we have now is a document that reflects the position of the US Treasury legal team,” said Svyrydenko. “This is not a final version, it’s not a joint position.”

She said that Ukraine’s task now is to assemble a technical team for negotiations, define its red lines and core principles, and send a delegation to Washington for technical talks as early as next week.

“It’s clear that the full parameters of this agreement can’t be discussed online,” Svyrydenko said. “We need to sit down with the teams and continue the conversation in person.”

Legal, investment, and financial advisers are being selected, she said.

“This marks a new stage in relations with the United States — one that requires expertise across multiple areas,” she said. “Ultimately, everything will be decided through the course of negotiations.”

Ukraine seeks terms acceptable to both sides

Svyrydenko declined to elaborate publicly on Ukraine’s official evaluation of the new draft, but noted that there is now a more detailed document outlining the fund’s creation. And while the initial draft focused primarily on the intention to establish the fund, Svyrydenko said the latest version lays out how American advisers envision its structure and operation.

It remains unclear what role Ukraine would play in managing the fund under the newly proposed US draft. However, analysts who reviewed the leaked document said Kyiv’s involvement would likely be minimal — a point Ukraine hopes to challenge in upcoming negotiations, using the previously agreed framework as its reference.

A previous version of the framework agreement, obtained by The Associated Press, outlined plans for a jointly owned and managed investment fund between the United States and Ukraine, intended to support the reconstruction of Ukraine’s war-torn economy.

Under the terms, Ukraine would allocate 50% of future revenues generated from key national assets — including minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable resources — to the fund.

The framework agreement, which was never signed, stated that revenues from its natural resources would go into the fund and be used for the reconstruction of the country, not that ownership or control of those resources would be transferred to the United States.

“We’re very focused on ensuring that the final draft of the agreement, after negotiations, fully aligns with our strategic interests,” Svyrydenko said. “I believe the work on the previous memorandum showed that both teams are capable of reaching these goals and agreeing on terms acceptable to both sides.”