According to a defense expert, Iran moved strike drones and other military assets on Thursday, using the cover of joint drills with Russia in the Strait of Hormuz.
Cameron Chell described the move as a “calculated escalation” amid rising tensions with the U.S., noting that Iran’s’ action followed reports of sightings of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones with precision strike capabilities in the region.
“The Russian drills would cover for the Iranian forces to move,” Chell, of defense firm Draganfly, told Digital. “They’ve gone under the veil of doing the military exercises, which happened to be along the coastline, and this is an escalation.”
The combined exercises, reported by The, also occurred as President Donald Trump pressed Iran further to make a deal to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions following indirect talks in Geneva.
“We’re going to [act] or we’re going to get a deal one way or the other,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, signaling his determination to secure an agreement.
Meanwhile, on Feb. 18, U.S. Central Command posted photos showing aircraft landing on the decks of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Flight-tracking data in recent days also showed surveillance drones operating near Iran’s coastline.
One Triton was observed on Feb. 14 and another on Feb. 18, conducting high-altitude maritime intelligence missions over the Gulf.
“The U.S. deployed an MQ Triton drone, which is a surveillance drone, so it does not have strike capability, and it typically flies at around 50,000 feet,” Chell said.
He added the drones would likely launch from land bases in countries such as Qatar and provide real-time situational awareness to naval commanders.
“These drones can guide the U.S. on Iranian forces performing exercises with the Russians and where they might be moving equipment to,” Chell said before describing how they fly them “at an altitude so that the Iranians can see it so they become a deterrent.”
Chell also said an MQ-9 Reaper drone was deployed, which he said can fly between 25,000 and 40,000 feet.
“This has strike capability, but Iranians do not have great capability to take these down,” he added.
As previously reported by Digital, the second aircraft carrier Trump has sent to the Middle East, and its accompanying ships are heading across the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea.
NATO country and U.S. ally Poland also warned its citizens Thursday to immediately flee Iran, with its prime minister saying the threat is very real.”