Others have been attacked in incidents the Navy blames on Iran. Near the United Arab Emirates and the Strait of Hormuz, oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces. Off Yemen, bomb-laden drone boats and mines set adrift by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have damaged vessels amid that country’s yearslong war. It also represents a region that has seen a series of at-sea attacks in recent years. 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 el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen. The 5th Fleet’s area of responsibility includes the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil passes. The 5th Fleet launched its unmanned Task Force 59 last year. 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. “Our response was one that as such made clear that this was U.S. The Navy called the Shahid Baziar by radio to identify the drone as American, 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 vessel then began towing the Saildrone Explorer, which carries cameras, radars and sensors for remotely monitoring the sea, Hawkins said. 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 Monday night, said Cmdr. 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 incident marks the first time the Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet’s new drone task force has been targeted by Iran. Navy warship and helicopter approached, officials said. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized an American sea drone Tuesday in the Persian Gulf and tried to tow it away, only releasing the unmanned vessel when a U.S.

Task force radio not working in game