WASHINGTON – The U.S. military said Tuesday that it fired on and destroyed two small Iranian boats after they attempted to seize an unmanned U.S. vessel in waters near Iran earlier this week.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said Iranian boats tried to take control of a U.S. unmanned surface vessel but were stopped after CENTCOM forces responded with force.
Iranian state media reported Monday that two fishing boats had come under attack in Hormozgan province along Iran’s southern coast. The reports, citing a provincial official, said several fishermen were missing.
The incident marks the latest exchange of fire in the more than six-month-old war, as the United States and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz. In recent weeks, the U.S. has managed to weaken Iran’s hold over the vital energy-shipping route. However, the increasingly unpopular conflict has pushed oil and gasoline prices higher, creating political challenges for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
Hawkins identified the drone involved as a Saildrone, a small craft measuring about 25 feet (8 meters) that is capable of operating autonomously. U.S. Central Command has used the vessels in the region for several years to monitor maritime traffic.
Hawkins said all of CENTCOM’s surface drones “remain fully accounted for.” The military has repeatedly maintained that the technology used aboard Saildrones is commercially available and does not contain sensitive equipment.
The latest episode, first reported by Axios, occurred one week after Iranian state television said the country’s navy had captured a U.S. military underwater drone near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
At the time, Hawkins said an Anduril Dive-LD drone malfunctioned while surveying regional waters and was no longer in the U.S. military’s possession. He emphasized that the drone was defective and an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried classified sonar or radar equipment.
