The U.S. Navy on Tuesday released photos and video of Iranian warships harassing their American counterparts during maneuvers in the Persian Gulf earlier this month:
American and Iranian warships had a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf earlier this month, the first such incident in about a year amid wider turmoil in the region over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal, the U.S. Navy says. https://t.co/T4Wuw38Rth
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) April 27, 2021
The encounter happened on April 2:
.@US5thFleet has released video and images of an April 2nd unprofessional interaction by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy in #ArabianGulf. pic.twitter.com/0tGJbffFJR
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) April 27, 2021
Photos here:
IRGCN repeatedly crossed the bows of the U.S. vessels at an unnecessarily close range, requiring U.S. ships to make defensive maneuvers to avoid the risk of a possible collision.
Full Story: https://t.co/20CigAxRIm pic.twitter.com/beF2zg2wO0
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) April 27, 2021
Earlier this month, Iran’s Press TV released an old video take allegedly from an Iranian drone flying over a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier:
Iran's IRGC drone takes precise footage as it flies over US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf pic.twitter.com/q0xEfoty7v
— Press TV (@PressTV) April 21, 2021
They also aired footage of an alleged “suicide drone test flight”:
UPDATE
Iran’s IRGC also released footage of its suicide drone test flight pic.twitter.com/t4PCUpFthz— Press TV (@PressTV) April 21, 2021
As many pointed out on Twitter, this is years-old footage:
Drones operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) capture strikingly precise footage of an American aircraft carrier during an overflight of the vessel in the Persian Gulf.
Read more: https://t.co/GRRjQLrtOp pic.twitter.com/DS87sVD4qm
— Press TV (@PressTV) April 21, 2021
But it’s clear they’re threatening U.S. interests:
The second part of the footage is entitled to precision attacks by the Corps’ kamikaze drones as they are hitting various targets. https://t.co/GRRjQLrtOp pic.twitter.com/Db5xqYW6bg
— Press TV (@PressTV) April 21, 2021
During a recent hearing, Centcom commander Gen. Frank McKenzie warned of Iran’s drone capabilities:
McKenzie warned that Iran’s widespread use of small- and medium-sized drones for surveillance and attacks means that “for the first time since the Korean War, we are operating without complete air superiority,” McKenzie said.
“Until we are able to develop and field a networked capability to detect and defeat UAS, the advantage will remain with the attacker,” he said, using an acronym for unmanned aerial systems.
Over to you, President Biden.
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