On the night of August 30, in the Persian Gulf, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy ship attempted to hijack a US Navy 5th Fleet Saildrone Explorer drone, which is used to monitor waters.
The command of the US Navy reported that the incident took place in international waters.
The Iranian IRGCN support ship Shahid Baziar took the Saildrone Explorer in tow and tried to escape with it. The American patrol ship USS Thunderbolt immediately arrived at the scene, and an MH-60S helicopter flew from Bahrain to help him.
The actions taken by Thunderbolt forced Shahid Baziar to disconnect the tow cable from the drone and leave the Persian Gulf area.
In the command of the US Navy, the actions of the Iranian military were called dishonorable behavior. It emphasized that the Saildrone Explorer surface vessel is not classified — it is a commercial drone.