Iran Briefly Seizes 2 US Sea Drones in Red Sea amid Tensions

In this frame grab from Iranian state television, Iranian navy sailors throw an American sea drone overboard in the Red Sea on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (Iranian state television via AP)
In this frame grab from Iranian state television, Iranian navy sailors throw an American sea drone overboard in the Red Sea on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (Iranian state television via AP)
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Iran Briefly Seizes 2 US Sea Drones in Red Sea amid Tensions

In this frame grab from Iranian state television, Iranian navy sailors throw an American sea drone overboard in the Red Sea on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (Iranian state television via AP)
In this frame grab from Iranian state television, Iranian navy sailors throw an American sea drone overboard in the Red Sea on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. (Iranian state television via AP)

Iran's navy seized two American sea drones in the Red Sea before letting them go Friday as US warships neared, officials said, in the latest maritime incident involving the Navy's new drone fleet in the Mideast.

Iranian state television aired footage it said came from the deck of the Iranian navy’s Jamaran destroyer, where lifejacket-wearing sailors examined two Saildrone Explorers. They tossed one overboard as another warship could be seen in the distance.

State TV said the Iranian navy found "several unmanned spying vessels abandoned in the international maritime routes" on Thursday.

"After two warnings to an American destroyer to prevent possible incidents, Jamaran seized the two vessels," state TV said. "After securing the international shipping waterway, the Naval Squadron No. 84 released the vessels in a safe area."

It added: "The USNavy was warned to avoid repeating similar incidents in future."

A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the incident before the military offered a formal statement, identified the seized drones as Saildrone Explorers. Those drones are commercially available and used by a variety of clients, including scientists, to monitor open waters.

Two American destroyers in the Red Sea, as well as Navy helicopters, responded to the incident, the official said. They called the Iranian destroyer over the radio and followed the vessel until it released the drones Friday morning, the official said.

Initially, the Iranian sailors tried to cover the drones with tarps and deny they had them, the official said, adding that the drones are now in US custody.

This marks the second such incident in recent days as negotiations over Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers hang in the balance.

The earlier incident involved Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, not its regular navy, and occurred in the Gulf. The Guard towed a Saildrone Explorer before releasing it as an American warship trailed it. Iran had criticized the US Navy for releasing a "Hollywood" video of the incident, only to do the same Friday in the Red Sea incident.

The 5th Fleet launched its unmanned Task Force 59 last year. Drones used by the Navy include ultra-endurance aerial surveillance drones, surface ships like the Sea Hawk and the Sea Hunter and smaller underwater drones that resemble torpedoes.

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 leading to the Mediterranean, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off Yemen.

The region has seen a series of maritime attacks in recent years.

Off Yemen in the Red Sea, bomb-laden drone boats and mines set adrift by Yemen’s Iran-backed 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 came about a year after then-President Donald Trump’s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal, in which sanctions on Tehran were lifted in exchange for it drastically limiting its enrichment of uranium.

Negotiations to revive the accord now hang in the balance. The US cast doubt Friday on Iran's latest written response over the talks.

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



Erdogan Accuses Top Turkish Business Group of Political Meddling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
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Erdogan Accuses Top Turkish Business Group of Political Meddling

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

President Tayyip Erdogan accused Türkiye's top business association, TUSIAD, of meddling in politics and undermining the government on Wednesday, piling pressure on a group already being investigated over an executive's remarks on democracy. Speaking to his ruling AK Party in the parliament, Erdogan said TUSIAD had "overstepped" and he dismissed it as a remnant of the past that had thrived on economic privilege and political influence.

"TUSIAD's mentality is a symbol of weak governments in Türkiye's past (and it is) full of businessmen who have grown under the shadow of unfair profits and privileges at the expense of the nation," he said.

"They once dictated politics through newspaper headlines. We put an end to that. We did not recognize any power above the will of the people," he said, accusing the group of fueling political instability and attempting to pressure the government. TUSIAD executive Omer Aras, who is the chairman of QNB's Turkish banking unit, last week criticized a government crackdown on dissenting figures, saying the probes into opposition leaders and journalists had shaken trust and damaged democracy. In response, a prosecutor's office opened an investigation into his remarks, prompting a drop in Istanbul-listed stocks. On Wednesday, Istanbul's prosecutors' office expanded the probe to include TUSIAD President Orhan Turhan, citing his statements at the group's general assembly as "misleading and disruptive to public order."

A statement on Wednesday from the Istanbul prosecutor's office said Aras and Turhan were under investigation for "attempting to influence a fair trial" and "publicly spreading misleading information," and that authorities had ordered them to appear for questioning. TUSIAD, whose members account for 85% of Türkiye's foreign trade and 80% of the country's corporate tax revenue, said on Tuesday it was working for national interests.

It did not address the investigation into Aras directly and did not immediately comment on Erdogan's remarks.

Erdogan said his government has raised per-capita income, built roads and spread prosperity since coming to power more than two decades ago. "As long as we are in power, no one will bring back the old system where a handful of elites siphoned off state resources," he said.

Opposition lawmakers have faced a wave of arrests, detentions and probes in the last few months that critics say aim to silence dissent and weaken Erdogan's rivals' electoral prospects. The government dismisses this accusation and says the judiciary is independent.