News - Middle East: Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani says the Americans begged Iran to release their vessels, which were confiscated in the Red Sea in late August, stressing that the Americans have not dared to enter the region again ever since.

Addressing the Friday prayers sermons in Tehran, the senior commander said the Iranian naval forces act completely professionally and in line with international law. He said they will firmly counter the enemy should it use unjustified military equipment.

In September, the Iranian Navy detailed seizing two American maritime drones in the Red Sea to prevent naval accidents in the international shipping lane.

The Navy’s Jamaran destroyer encountered the “data collecting” drones during a routine operation aimed at securing shipping routes and confronting piracy and maritime terrorism, the Navy said in a statement on September 1.

The Iranian ship then released them in a “safe area” to “establish naval security,” after which American naval units, which were present there, captured the drones.