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)
TT
20

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.



Putin Thanks Saudi Leadership for Sponsoring ‘Positive’ Riyadh Talks

 A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
TT
20

Putin Thanks Saudi Leadership for Sponsoring ‘Positive’ Riyadh Talks

 A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with President Donald Trump but the meeting needs to be prepared to make it productive.

"I would like to have a meeting, but it needs to be prepared so that it brings results," Putin said in televised remarks. He added that he would be "pleased" to meet Trump.

Putin hailed the "positive" talks between senior Russian and US officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, noting that the parties agreed to restore the tattered diplomatic relations.

He expressed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for holding the talks in Riyadh.

"In my opinion, we have taken a first step to resume work in a variety of areas that are of mutual interest," Putin said. These included issues relating to the Middle East, global energy markets and cooperation in space, he said.

"Without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States, it is impossible to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis."

Ukraine and European governments were not invited to the talks in the Saudi capital, which heightened their concern that Russia and the United States might cut a deal that ignores their vital security interests.

But Putin said Russia had never rejected talks with the Europeans or with Kyiv, and it was they who had refused to talk to Moscow.

'NO ONE IS EXCLUDING UKRAINE,' PUTIN SAYS

"If they want, please, let these negotiations take place. And we will be ready to return to the table for negotiations," he said.

"No one is excluding Ukraine," he added, saying that there was therefore no need for a "hysterical" reaction to the US-Russia talks.

Putin praised the American's "restraint" in the face of what he called "boorish" behavior by US allies.

He said he would be "happy to meet with Donald".

"But we are in such a situation that it is not enough to meet to have tea, coffee, sit and talk about the future. We need to ensure that our teams prepare issues that are extremely important for both the United States and Russia, including - but not only - on the Ukrainian track, in order to reach solutions acceptable to both sides."

Putin said this would be no easy task. He said that Trump himself, who during the US election campaign repeatedly promised to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, was now talking about a period of six months.

He said this was "natural" because Trump had simply begun to receive fresh information that changed his approach.