• An Iranian warship briefly held two U.S. Navy sea drones in the Red Sea, an American military official says.
• The incident is the second time this week an Iranian vessel has intercepted a drone.
• Iranians eventually released the drones after bridge-to-bridge communication.

An Iranian warship captured and briefly detained two U.S. Navy sea drones in the Red Sea. This is the second time this week that an Iranian warship has snagged an American water-based drone, according to a U.S. military official.

In the Red Sea, outside of Iranian territorial seas, on Thursday night local time, an Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) destroyer plucked two American saildrones from the water. The incident, according to the United States, took place in international seas.

According to the U.S. official, the U.S. retaliated by sending two warships that were already in the region to the location after the Iranians put the drones into their ship. By using bridge-to-bridge communication, the United States was able to reach the Iranians, who eventually consented to release the drones.

According to the official, they held the drones for four hours before releasing them on Friday morning.

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The IRIN claimed that while “establishing the security and safety of shipping in the Red Sea and combating piracy and maritime terrorism, the Jamaran destroyer encountered several small data collection vessels that were abandoned on the international shipping route and took action to prevent the occurrence of an accident,” according to Iranian state television.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Iranian representation to the UN. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) attempted and failed to capture a Saildrone in the Persian Gulf on Monday night, according to the Navy.

In a region where the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy was patrolling at around 11 p.m. local time, the Shahid Baziar seized and towed the unmanned seacraft.

According to a U.S. defence official, the USS Thunderbolt patrol ship noticed the Shahid Baziar carrying the drone, acknowledged itself as an American vessel, and repeatedly demanded the drone’s release.

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