DUBAI: The US Navy held a joint drone drill with the United Kingdom on Friday in the Arabian Gulf, testing the same unmanned surveillance ships that Iran twice has seized in recent months in the Middle East.
The exercise comes as the US Navy separately told commercial shippers in the wider Mideast that it would continue using drones in the region and warned against interfering with their operations.
The drone drill — and the American pledge to keep sailing them — also comes as tensions between the US and Iran on the seas remain high amid stalled negotiations over its tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as protests sweep the Islamic Republic.
Friday’s drill involved two American and two British warships in the Arabian Gulf, as well as three Saildrone Explorers, said Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet.
The drones searched for a target on the seas, then sent the still images its cameras captured back to both the warships and the 5th Fleet’s command center in the island kingdom of Bahrain. There, an artificial intelligence system worked through the photos.
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.
But of particular interest for the Navy has been the Saildrone Explorer, a commercially available drone that can stay at sea for long periods of time. That’s crucial for a region that has some 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) of coastline from the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Gulf.
It’s a vast territory that stretches the reach of the Navy and its allies and has seen a series of attacks amid the atomic accord’s collapse. It also remains crucial to global shipping and energy supplies, as a fifth of all oil traded passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
“No matter what forces you have, you can’t cover all that,” Hawkins told The Associated Press. “You have to do that in a partnered way and an innovative way.”
But Iran, which long has equated America’s presence in the region to it patrolling the Gulf of Mexico, views the drones with suspicion. In August and September, Iranian regular and paramilitary forces seized Saildrones in both the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, alleging without providing evidence that the drones posed a danger to nearby ships.
Iran ultimately released the drones after the US Navy arrived to the sites. Cameras on the Saildrones involved in the Red Sea incident went missing.
Iranian state-run media did not acknowledge the drill Friday. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Recent events notwithstanding, we have been operating these systems safely, responsibly and in accordance with international law and will continue to do so,” Hawkins said.
The Navy underscored its plan to keep operating the drones in notices sent to shippers and sailors in the region beginning Thursday. It said that the drones would continue to broadcast their location via their Automatic Identification System trackers.
Ships are supposed to keep their AIS trackers on, but Iranian vessels routinely turn theirs off to mask their movements as Tehran faces international sanctions over its nuclear program and human rights abuses.
“US Navy (drones) are US government property and will lawfully operate in international waters and through straits in accordance with internationally recognized rights and freedoms,” the Navy said in the notice. “Any interference with US Navy (drones) will be considered a violation of the norms of international maritime law.”
US, UK hold drone drill in Arabian Gulf after Iran seizures
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US, UK hold drone drill in Arabian Gulf after Iran seizures
- Drill involved two American and two British warships in the Arabian Gulf, as well as three Saildrone Explorer
- Iran, which long has equated America’s presence in the region to it patrolling the Gulf of Mexico, views the drones with suspicion
Drone strikes target army celebration in central Sudan: witnesses
- Drone strikes targeted the Sudanese town of Tamboul, southeast of the capital Khartoum, on Wednesday during a celebration organized by the army, two witnesses told AFP
PORT SUDAN: Drone strikes targeted the Sudanese town of Tamboul, southeast of the capital Khartoum, on Wednesday during a celebration organized by the army, two witnesses told AFP.
One Tamboul resident said chaos had erupted in the central square where “hundreds of people had gathered” for the ceremony as air defenses responded.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes, the first in Al-Jazira state in months, and neither the army nor its paramilitary foes issued any comment.
Al-Jazira was Sudan’s pre-war agricultural heartland.
It had been largely calm since the army recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in January in the same counteroffensive that saw it retake Khartoum in March.
According to the United Nations, around a million people have returned to their homes in Al-Jazira since January.
Wednesday’s celebration in Tamboul was due to be attended by Abu Aqla Kaykal, the commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group currently aligned with the regular army which has been accused of atrocities while fighting on both sides of Sudan’s devastating war.
His defection back to the army’s side late last year helped pave the way for its gains of recent months.
Since it began in April 2023, the war between the regular army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
The army now controls the center, north and east of Sudan, while the RSF hold nearly all of the west and parts of the south.
Hamas says Israel making ‘aggressive’ incursions into Gaza City
- The Israeli military said Wednesday it had approved the “framework” for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip
- The Netanyahu government’s plans to expand the Gaza war after more than 22 months of fighting have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition
JERUSALEM: A Hamas official said Wednesday that Israeli forces were making “aggressive” incursions into Gaza City, after the military approved the framework for a new offensive in the territory.
“The Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP. “These assaults represent a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground by force, through a scorched earth policy and the complete destruction of civilian property.”
The assualt follows the Israeli military's announcement on Wednesday that it had approved the “framework” for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City.
Armed forces chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir “approved the main framework for the IDF’s operational plan in the Gaza Strip,” a statement released by the army said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter the territory’s largest city, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit “with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings.”
News of the military’s approval of the plan comes hours after Hamas said a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for “preliminary talks” with Egyptian officials on a temporary truce.
The Netanyahu government’s plans to expand the Gaza war after more than 22 months of fighting have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.
“These assaults represent a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground by force, through a scorched earth policy and the complete destruction of civilian property.”
UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
Lebanon president tells Iran security chief he ‘rejects all interference’
- Ali Larijani’s trip to Lebanon comes after Iran expressed opposition to a government plan to disarm Hezbollah
- Larijani met President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Iran’s visiting security chief on Wednesday that he rejected any interference in the country’s internal affairs, branding as “unconstructive” Iran’s statements on plans to disarm Hezbollah.
“We reject any interference in our internal affairs,” Aoun said, adding that “it is forbidden for anyone... to bear arms and to use foreign backing as leverage,” Aoun told Ali Larijani, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency posted on X.
Iran’s top security chief vowed in Lebanon on Wednesday that his government would continue to provide support, after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Larijani’s trip to Lebanon comes after Iran expressed opposition to a government plan to disarm Hezbollah, which before a war with Israel last year was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military.
“If... the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances,” Larijani, the head of the National Security Council, told reporters after landing in Beirut.
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters gathered along the airport road to welcome Larijani. He briefly stepped out of his car to greet them as they chanted slogans of support.
In Lebanon, Larijani met with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is close to Hezbollah.
Iran has suffered a series of blows in its long-running rivalry with Israel, including during 12 days of open war between the two countries in June.
Hezbollah’s grip on power has slipped since a war with Israel ended in a November 2024 ceasefire and the new Lebanese government, backed by the United States, has moved to further restrain it.
Hezbollah is part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” — a network of armed groups in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, united in their opposition to Israel.
The ouster in December of Bashar Assad in Syria, which long served as a conduit for weapons deliveries between Iran and Hezbollah, cut off the supply route to Lebanon.
Ankara, Damascus top diplomats warn Israel over Syria action
DUBAI: Turkey's foreign minister and his Syrian counterpart on Wednesday warned Israel not to stir up chaos in Syria and demanded an end to all external interventions aimed at destabilising the war-torn country.
Speaking from Ankara, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani said foreign actors were exacerbating the unrest within Syria.
“We are also confronting multiple foreign interventions, both direct and indirect... (that) push the country toward sectarian and regional strife,” he said without giving details but warning against “any reckless attempts to exploit events here.”
Al Shaibani also said his country is committed to holding accountable those responsible for any violations in the recent deadly violence that gripped the southwestern Druze-majority province of Sweida.
Shaibani reiterated Damascus’s sentiments in assuring the Druze community that they are part of Syria and their protection is the responsibility of the state. He was accompanied by Syrian Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Hussein Salameh during the visit.
Speaking at the joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also blamed Israel for its attempts to meddle in Syrian affairs.
“Certain actors are bothered by the positive developments in Syria,” Fidan said, referring to Israel and Kurdish YPG fighters operational in northeastern Syria.
“Israel is currently one of the biggest actors in this dark picture,” he said of its ongoing military incursions since the overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad late last year.
“The emergence of chaos in Syria... appears to have become a priority for Israel's own national security,” he said.
Fidan also said Syria is heading toward stability and developing constructive international relations.
Al-Shaibani’s trip to Ankara is focused on enhancing cooperation between the two countries, enhancing security and developing economic investments.
It comes a week after Fidan visited Damascus where he affirmed Turkiye’s support for Syria and called on the international community to shoulder responsibility in curbing Israeli aggression and occupation of Syrian lands.
Jordan authorities seize half a million Captagon pills in smuggling attempt
CAIRO: Jordanian Customs and the anti-narcotics department foiled an attempt to smuggle a total of 517,000 Captagon pills into the country, according to Petra News Agency.
The Karameh Customs Center said Wednesday the seized drugs were professionally hidden inside metal trays that seemed to be designed specifically for the purpose of smuggling.
The drugs were carried inside a truck arriving from a neighboring country, it added.
At dawn, the Jordanian military also thwarted another drug smuggling attempt in which smugglers loaded balloons with drugs and controlled them using primitive devices. The seized items were transferred to the competent authorities.
