Iran arms over 50 cities with defense system amid heightened tension with US

[Boats]

Iran arms over 50 cities with defense system amid heightened tension with US
By: Caitlin McFall & Liz Friden - Fox News - 09-03-22
Re: https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-a...ned-tension-us

Iran announces defensive measures days after attempting to seize several U.S. drones from international waters

Video link: On site only: Iranian warship intercepts US military drones
Fox News chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel reports on an Iranian
warship intercepting American drones only to return them the following morning on
'Special Report.' Go to the site to download the video link.
{It'sBeyond Words]

Iran has armed 51 cities and towns with a civil defense system aimed to respond to any foreign attack as tensions with the U.S. have mounted in recent weeks.

The defenses will enable Iran’s arms forces to "identify and monitor threats by using round-the-clock software according to the type of the threat and risk," Deputy Defense Minister General Mehdi Farahi said Saturday, according to a Reuters report.

"These days, depending on the strength of countries, the form of battles has become more complicated," he added.

Farahi did not name any specific countries Tehran could be targeted by but noted that conventional warfare has largely been replaced by cyber, biological and radioactive attack tactics.

The defensive measures come as military tensions in the Red Sea escalated this week when Iran’s navy attempted to capture several U.S. drones from international waters.

The first incident occurred Monday when an Iranian ship attempted to seize a U.S. drone in the Persian Gulf by towing it behind its vessel before the U.S. 5th Fleet dispatched a helicopter and ship to stop the Iranian crew.

Photo released by Navy Dept: https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxne....jpg?ve=1&tl=1
This photo released by the U.S. Navy shows the Iranian Revolutionary Guard ship Shahid Bazair, left, towing a U.S. Navy Saildrone Explorer in the Persian Gulf Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. (U.S. Navy)

Iran went further in its second attempt Thursday when a warship seized and detained two U.S. sea drones operating near one another in international waters.

The U.S. 5th Fleet again detected the seizure and dispatched two destroyers and a helicopter, the Pentagon said Friday evening.

The helicopter then approached the Iran warship and found the crew of the Iranian vessel attempting to cover up the sea drones with tarps.

"The Iranians knew they were in the wrong," a U.S. official told Fox News. "This was deliberate. The U.S. 5th Fleet has been operating these systems since the fall of last year."

The Iranian ship released the sea vessels Friday morning.
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Personal note: Iran knows the US is spread pretty thin right now with the ongoing
issues with Russia - China & North Korea. So they are adding their issues on top
of everything else we are currently involved with. Things are piling up pretty
quick around the globe not sure the US can cover all the bases and still make
headway on the major issues. Time will tell. Let's hope for the best - but we
all know more is on the horizon they we are being told!
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