US Navy says Iran's IRGC seized and released US sea drone in Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has seized an American sea drone in the Gulf and tried to tow it away, only releasing the unmanned vessel when a US Navy warship and helicopter approached, US officials have said. The incident on Tuesday marks the first time the Navy's Middle East-based 5th Fleet's new drone task force has been targeted by Iran. While the interception ended without incident, it comes amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran as negotiations over the tattered Iranian nuclear deal hang in the balance. The U.S. Navy prevented a support ship from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) from capturing an unmanned surface vessel operated by the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Arabian Gulf, Aug. 29-30. The IRGC's Shahid Baziar warship attached a line to the Saildrone Explorer in the central part of the Gulf in international waters late Monday night, said Commander Timothy Hawkins, a 5th Fleet spokesman.