DUBAI: Iran’s navy seized two American sea drones in the Red Sea before letting them go Friday, officials said, in the latest maritime incident involving the US 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 US Navy 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.
“We have them in our custody,” the official said. “We continue our operations across the region.”
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 Arabian 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 Arabian Gulf through which 20 percent 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 el-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 Houthi rebels 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.
Iran briefly seizes 2 US sea drones in Red Sea amid tensions
https://arab.news/zhbt5
Iran briefly seizes 2 US sea drones in Red Sea amid tensions
- A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the seized drones as Saildrone Explorers
Aoun reassures Lebanon that risk of war is ‘fading’ in year-end message
- Israeli military spokesperson said it targeted 380 armed operatives, 950 military sites in Lebanon in past year
- Beirut’s southern suburb residents pledge to avoid celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday sought to reassure citizens in his year-end address, saying “the overall atmosphere remains positive and the risk of war is fading,” amid widespread concern over a possible Israeli escalation against Hezbollah.
Fear of renewed attacks followed Israeli criticism of a Lebanese Army weapons-confiscation operation that is set to enter its second phase at the start of the 2026. The plan include the expansion from areas north of the Litani River to the Awali River, after the first phase was completed south of the Litani.
President Aoun cautioned that this does not mean “completely eliminating the risk of war,” stressing that “work is underway with various friendly and brotherly countries to completely neutralize the threat of war.”
Addressing Internal Security officials, Aoun said that the “situation is among the best,” noting that this assessment has been echoed by foreign visitors to Lebanon, despite the strain caused by large numbers of Syrian and Palestinian refugees.
He added that security forces were fully carrying out their duties and solving crimes with notable speed, pointing to the successful visit of Pope Leo XIV earlier this year as further evidence of progress.
On Monday, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa stressed during a Beirut press conference that implementing “international agreements and resolutions, foremost among them the Nov. 27, 2014 agreement and Resolution 1701, constitutes the fundamental approach to sparing Lebanon further security tensions,” speaking of “dire consequences that could result from continued escalation.”
The Egyptian diplomat indicated that “there are no hidden warnings or threats directed at Lebanon, but rather a clear commitment to the agreements signed by the concerned parties, which must be fully implemented by everyone.”
The ambassador stated that his country, under the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is “exerting intensive efforts to reduce tensions in southern Lebanon and the region in general, through active diplomatic contacts led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty with relevant regional and international parties.”
Israeli military spokesman Avichai Adraee published on Wednesday a summary of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2025.
“The Army targeted approximately 380 armed operatives, including Ali Tabatabai (chief of staff), Hassan Kamal (responsible for anti-tank missiles on the southern front), Abbas Hassan Karky (logistics officer in the southern command), and Khodr Saeed Hashem (commander of the naval force in the Radwan Unit),” he said.
“It also attacked approximately 950 military targets, including 210 launch sites and weapons depots, 140 military buildings, and about 60 tunnel entrances,” Adraee added.
In the statement, he accused Hezbollah of committing about 1,920 ceasefire violations and said the military would continue its raids and targeting operations in the new year.
UNIFIL Com. Gen. Diodato Abagnara said in his end-of-the-year message that “UNIFIL will continue to support Lebanon and Israel in implementing their obligations under Resolution 1701, building on the stability achieved in 2025 and strengthening efforts toward a lasting peace.”
As part of the weapons restriction plan, on Tuesday, the Fatah movement — the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon — handed over a new batch of heavy and medium weapons from the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp to the Lebanese Army in four trucks, away from the media.
This is the second batch of weapons to be handed over from the camp, which is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It represents the fifth phase of the Palestinian weapons handover process in the camps, four of which were completed between Aug. 21 and Sept. 13, 2025, encompassing nine camps, including Ain Al-Hilweh.
The handover follows and implements an agreement reached between Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after the latter’s visit to Lebanon in May.
Abbas had announced “the Palestinian Authority’s support for the Lebanese state’s plan to extend its authority over all Lebanese territory, including the Palestinian camps.”
Hamas continues to refuse to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army, while Hezbollah maintains its weapons north of the Litani River.
The Lebanese Army implemented “exceptional security measures in various Lebanese regions on New Year’s Eve, with the aim of maintaining security.”
It called on citizens to “cooperate with the security measures taken to maintain public safety and prevent incidents,” warning of the consequences of firing weapons, which will be prosecuted as it poses a threat to public safety.
In another measure, authorities announced that gun licenses and traffic permits will be suspended until Jan. 2, 2026.
In Beirut’s southern suburbs, residents signed a pledge as part of an Internal Security Forces campaign against celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve, committing not to fire weapons in public and to report violations with photos or videos.
