{"id":276862,"date":"2023-11-30T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T07:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=276862"},"modified":"2023-12-01T08:32:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T08:32:05","slug":"iran-releases-drone-footage-of-us-warships-in-its-sights-as-tensions-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=276862","title":{"rendered":"Iran releases drone footage of US warships in its sights as tensions grow"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sun \u2013 Nov 29, 2023<\/strong><\/h1>\n

IRAN released chilling footage of its drones circling American warships in a show of force against increased US military presence in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Tensions are currently raging in the Persian Gulf as Iran-backed rebels fired ballistic missiles at US warships<\/a>, while armed hijackers made attempts to capture Israeli tankers over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Iranian drones flew close to the US strike group as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz in a ‘direct warning’<\/p>\n

Footage from onboard the drones shows them swarming the US warships as they passed through the dangerous waters of the Strait of Hormuz and entered the Persian gulf.<\/p>\n

The Commander of the Iranian<\/a> Revolutionary Guard Navy declared the aerial assault a “direct warning” to the flagship aircraft carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>

The UAVs specifically targeted the flagship USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Its transit through the Strait of Hormuz marks the first aircraft carrier to operate in the Persian Gulf since September 2020.<\/p>\n

It was part of a wider American deployment in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war still threatens to come spark a wider regional conflict.<\/p>\n

Iranian drones flew dangerously close to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which included US guided-missile cruisers and destroyers as well as a French<\/a> Navy destroyer and air support from French fighter jets.<\/p>\n

Iran’s state-run media channel, Tasnim, said Iranian drones “observed” the American fleet using “unmanned and manned intelligence systems”.<\/p>\n

However, the US Navy reported that the strike group completed its patrol successfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur passage through this important strait and continued presence in the area plays a critical role in maintaining the freedom of navigation that is key to regional security and stability,\u201d said commander Rear Adm. Marc Miguez.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s biggest shipping lanes – an essential kink in the movement of global trade.<\/p>\n

Iran’s brazen move has raised the stakes in the growing maritime conflict unfolding in the Strait.<\/p>\n

It comes as Yemen’s<\/a> Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired two ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship<\/a> off the coast of Yemen after hijackers stormed an Israeli tanker.<\/p>\n

The USS Mason managed to drive away five armed hijackers who seized chemical tanke<\/a>r Central Park in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The attackers tried to escape on a boat, but were chased down and eventually captured by the US Navy.<\/p>\n

Although the US has not identified the attackers, Houthi forces fired two missiles just as the Navy moved in to arrest the armed hijackers.<\/p>\n

Just last week another\u00a0Israeli-owned cargo ship was hijacked by Houthi rebels <\/a>in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Chilling footage showed a\u00a0chopper landing on the cargo carrier before several gunmen<\/a>\u00a0made their mad dash on board.<\/p>\n

The Iran-backed militants stormed the desk and held the international crew of 25 at gunpoint during the brutal attack.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin\u00a0Netanyahu<\/a>\u00a0slammed the capture of the cargo as “terrorism”.<\/p>\n

Earlier in November, the Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship also linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. The rebels still hold the vessel off the port city of Hodeida.<\/p>\n

Before that, the Iran-backed rebels had not directly targeted the Americans for some time.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the US launched Tomahawk cruise missiles that destroyed three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory to retaliate for missiles being fired at its warships.<\/p>\n

Since Israel declared war on Hamas following their\u00a0bloody October 7 massacres<\/a>, Iran-backed terror groups in\u00a0Lebanon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Yemen<\/a>\u00a0have repeatedly threatened to open up new fronts in the conflict.<\/p>\n

Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels are part of Iran’s self-styled “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and have been striking both Israeli and US targets in “solidarity” with Hamas.<\/p>\n

Hezbollah in particular has been pounding Israeli military positions in the country’s north with mortar fire and suicide drones, while Israel has retaliated with warplanes, helicopters and missiles.<\/a><\/p>\n

The border skirmishes have further fuelled fears that the conflict may spiral into an\u00a0all-out war<\/a> across the region.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, spiralling Palestinian deaths inside the Gaza Strip have provided an impetus for increasing Iran-backed attacks on US bases in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry estimates 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive so far.<\/p>\n