Screenshot of a video showing support ship Shahid Baziar, left, from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy unlawfully towing a Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in international waters of the Arabian Gulf, Aug. 30. 2022.
U.S. Navy photo
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps tried to capture a US unmanned vessel in the Persian Gulf, according to the US Navy.
The US Navy dispatched a ship and helicopter and stopped the IRGC, the military said.
Both the US Navy and Coast Guard have had run-ins with the IRGC in the past.
The US Navy said on Tuesday that it successfully stopped Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from trying to capture one of its unmanned surface vessels in the Persian Gulf.
In a statement, the US Naval Forces Central Command said the US 5th Fleet was sailing through international waters around 11 p.m. local time on Monday night when it noticed the IRGC support ship Shahid Baziar towing the Saildrone Explorer “in an attempt to detain it.”
A US Navy patrol ship USS Thunderbolt was nearby and responded right away to the incident, the Navy said, and an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter was also sent from a base in nearby Bahrain.
Once the US Navy responded, it said, the IRGC ship disconnected the line it was using to tow the Saildrone Explorer and left the area a few hours later.
The Saildrone Explorer is an unmanned surface vessel, with radars, cameras, and sensors to collect data.
IRGC’s “actions were flagrant, unwarranted, and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said in a statement.
Screenshot of a video showing support ship Shahid Baziar, left, from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy unlawfully towing a Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in international waters of the Arabian Gulf as US Navy patrol coastal ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) approaches in response, Aug. 30.
U.S. Navy photo
The US Navy and the Coast Guard have both had their share of run-ins with the IRGC. IRGC fast-attack boats have come close to US vessels in the past, prompting the military to respond with warnings shots, radio warnings, and other measures.
Monday night’s incident in the Persian Gulf happened while tensions are high between the US troops and Iran-backed militias in Syria as the two sides exchange rocket strikes.