A ship attacked off the coast of Oman is raising tensions between Israel and Iran as Israel’s foreign minister on Friday slammed Iran as an exporter of terrorism, destruction, instability and threats to freedom of navigation. pro-Iran social media accounts and a report good TV in al-Alam said Iran carried out the attack on the ship in response to an airstrike in Syria, for which Iran blames Israel.
New details of the attack on the 600-foot-tall Mercer Street tanker have revealed that drones were used to spread death and destruction. Two died in the attack. The New York Times reported that two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “the attack appears to have been carried out by several unmanned Iranian drones that crashed into the ship’s command center, or the living quarters under the bridge.” they were finished.” This looks like a serious and complex attack that is not only a major enhancement, but a new use of Iran drone technology.
Iran has been increasing its drone capabilities in recent years. It has a large number of militarized drones such as the Shaheed, Mohajer and Ababil lines. Iran has also recently demonstrated a new drone named after Gaza. Iran claims its drones have a longer range because they can reach more than 1,000 miles, and some can carry missiles while others can be pre-programmed to launch precise strikes by slamming into targets. For example, Iranian-style kamikaze drones have been developed by Hamas in Gaza, where they are called Shehab, and by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who use Qassef drones. The Houthis terrorize Saudi Arabia with these drones, as they carry a weapon in their body and are programmed to attack targets using some sort of gyroscope and guidance system. US and regional Gulf reports have linked drones across the region to Iranian construction and blueprints through details such as gyroscopes.
Iran has a lot of drones. Its Shaheed-129 looks a lot like an American Predator, as does its new “Gaza” drone, a Shaheed-149. The Shaheed 121 is a smaller reconnaissance drone, and the Shaheed 123 TIS is also part of the same line of drones. Iran also makes drones called Rad, Segeh, Sarir, Fotros, Karrar, Kian and others. Some Iranian drones mentioned in the sources may not be present, such as the Shaheed-136, which was reportedly sent to Yemen in January to target Israel.
Importantly, Iran relies on drones to threaten enemies around the region, usually by transferring drones to allies and allies such as Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iraqi militias. Iranian operators can fly drones out of places like the T-4 airbase in Syria, but the overall goal is not to easily link attacks to Iran when drones are used against the US in Israel, Iraq, or Saudi Arabia, the Kurds. Is. forces and others. In some cases, parts and munitions that can be used in drones have been intercepted at sea by the US Navy as Iran has demanded the Houthis take arms.
Reported the use of several drones against mercer street Could mark a new era in the Middle East and a major red line as drones are being used against ships. Using multiple drones to accurately target parts of a ship, such as bridges or living quarters, could indicate advanced surveillance and intelligence capabilities. It is unclear whether Iran’s drones can be piloted after being launched by a ground control station. This means attacking a ship is complicated because the ships are in constant motion, and it is not clear how Iran can program the drone to attack the ship accurately. Even at anchor, a ship will move with the tide or wind. How can the drone then target specific areas, unless it is controlled until impact? These are important questions.
If Iran reaches a new level of precision drone strikes and is using them against shipping in deadly strikes, it is a major milestone. Iran could also take these drones to the Houthis or others, or base them on ships. Iranian ships recently sailed around Africa to Russia, and brought drones with them. Iran has also installed drones on its IRGC fast boats, and has tested drones in recent naval exercises.
Iran’s drone threat from pro-Iranian militias in Syria or from Hezbollah, Hamas, or Iraq was known. The Houthi drone threat was also well known. Furthermore, the use of drones by Iran to attack Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia in September 2019 was a major incident that some experts described as a Pearl Harbor for new technology. Air defenses against drones have been improved, but the Houthis continue to use them against Riyadh and pro-Iran militias in Iraq have shown dozens of Iranian drones they now have in their arsenal. He is believed to have used a drone to attack a secret CIA hangar in Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region in April this year. Also it is believed that Kataib Hezbollah used Iranian-supplied drones to attack Saudi Arabia in 2019. Iran used drones to monitor attacks on ISIS and to help fight ISIS in Syria in 2017. It also used a drone flown from Kirkuk in 2018 to target Kurdish dissidents, and in July 2019 it once again used a new drone unit to target Kurds.
Iranian drones and drone technology are now a major emerging threat from Lebanon through Syria and Iraq to the Persian Gulf and then to the Gulf of Oman and Yemen, stretching for thousands of miles and potentially harboring ships and ships from the US and many allies. Army is pouring in. And the partners are in danger.
Iran is indicating it will strike using drones at sea in deadly strikes in response to Israeli strikes in Syria or elsewhere. Pro-Iran social media accounts say Iran’s armed drone capability is growing and the incident shows that New Iran Policy Of vengeance