A newly unveiled Iranian drone carrier has been spotted in the Persian Gulf for the first time, as shown in satellite images captured earlier this week. This marks the ship’s initial documented appearance since it departed its home port in mid-November.
Satellite imagery from Thursday, provided by Maxar Technologies, revealed three Iranian drone ships positioned off the nation’s coastline. The discovery comes amid U.S. speculation linking Iran to unexplained drone sightings reported across the tri-state area, according to Business Insider.
The newly identified vessel, the Shahid Bagheri, is a repurposed cargo ship modified to facilitate drone operations. Its last recorded location was Bandar Abbas on November 12, where satellite photos had previously captured it docked, the report stated.
Further satellite analysis revealed that the Shahid Bagheri departed its home port at some point between November 12 and November 28. New imagery showed an empty berth at the dock where the ship was previously stationed, as noted in another Business Insider article.
The vessel is believed to have headed directly to the Persian Gulf, possibly to participate in naval drills, according to the report.
This week’s satellite images show the Shahid Bagheri stationed alongside two other Iranian drone carriers — the Shahid Roudaki and Shahid Mahdavi — in the waters near Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf, NDTV reported.
Reports of the Shahid Bagheri’s movements coincided with growing conjecture about an Iranian “mothership” potentially operating in the Atlantic Ocean. Some speculated that such a vessel might be linked to mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey and Staten Island.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) addressed the claims during a Wednesday morning interview with Fox News, alleging that Iran could be behind the drone activity and referencing confidential sources.
“I’m going to tell you the real deal. Iran launched a mothership that contains these drones,” Van Drew stated. “It’s off the East Coast of the United States of America. They’ve launched drones.”
The Pentagon swiftly dismissed these allegations, asserting that there was “no evidence” to suggest Iran was responsible for the drones reportedly seen across New Jersey since November 18.
Despite the Pentagon’s denial, state and local officials have yet to receive any definitive explanation for the thousands of reports flooding in from concerned residents.
On Thursday, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, addressed the issue, stating that no federal agency had found evidence to support claims of illegal drone activity. He noted that all examined aircraft appeared to be operating lawfully.
Kirby later clarified his remarks during a Friday interview on Fox’s The Story.
“I said many of the corroborated sightings have turned out to be piloted aircraft; I didn’t say all of them. I said those were the ones we were able to corroborate,” Kirby explained.
“There’s certainly the ones that we have not been able to [corroborate] and don’t know the answers to it,” he added.
{Matzav.com}