IRAN released chilling footage of its drones circling American warships in a show of force against increased US military presence in the Middle East.
Tensions are currently raging in the Persian Gulf as Iran-backed rebels fired ballistic missiles at US warships, while armed hijackers made attempts to capture Israeli tankers over the weekend.
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.
The Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy declared the aerial assault a "direct warning" to the flagship aircraft carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Its transit through the Strait of Hormuz marks the first aircraft carrier to operate in the Persian Gulf since September 2020.
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.
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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 Navy destroyer and air support from French fighter jets.
Iran's state-run media channel, Tasnim, said Iranian drones "observed" the American fleet using "unmanned and manned intelligence systems".
However, the US Navy reported that the strike group completed its patrol successfully.
“Our 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,” said commander Rear Adm. Marc Miguez.
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The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's biggest shipping lanes – an essential kink in the movement of global trade.
Iran's brazen move has raised the stakes in the growing maritime conflict unfolding in the Strait.
It comes as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired two ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship off the coast of Yemen after hijackers stormed an Israeli tanker.
The USS Mason managed to drive away five armed hijackers who seized chemical tanker Central Park in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday.
The attackers tried to escape on a boat, but were chased down and eventually captured by the US Navy.
Although the US has not identified the attackers, Houthi forces fired two missiles just as the Navy moved in to arrest the armed hijackers.
Just last week another Israeli-owned cargo ship was hijacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Chilling footage showed a chopper landing on the cargo carrier before several gunmen made their mad dash on board.
The Iran-backed militants stormed the desk and held the international crew of 25 at gunpoint during the brutal attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the capture of the cargo as "terrorism".
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.
Before that, the Iran-backed rebels had not directly targeted the Americans for some time.
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.
Since Israel declared war on Hamas following their bloody October 7 massacres, Iran-backed terror groups in Lebanon and Yemen have repeatedly threatened to open up new fronts in the conflict.
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.
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.
The border skirmishes have further fuelled fears that the conflict may spiral into an all-out war across the region.
Meanwhile, spiralling Palestinian deaths inside the Gaza Strip have provided an impetus for increasing Iran-backed attacks on US bases in the Middle East.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry estimates 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive so far.
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