Iran has new drone ship in Persian Gulf

Iran has a new ship with the capability of launching drones, according to satellite images reviewed by Maxar Technologies that were shared with The Hill.

The new drone ship, called Shahid Bagheri, is anchored offshore of the Iranian naval port of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf, according to Maxar.

The ship was originally a commercial container ship but was modified into a drone carrier vessel for Iran's naval forces.

The Shahid Bagheri left home port in late November and is conducting its first sea trial, according to Maxar, which says the ship has a net-covered drone on deck.

Accompanying the drone ship are two other vessels that appear to be similarly modified, the Shahid Mahdavi and Shahid Roudaki, according to the images.

Additional photos provided by the company detail how the ships were modified and constructed at a nearby Iranian shipyard, including the addition of a ski-jump ramp and angled flight deck that can be used to launch and recover drones.

The news comes amid a flurry of drones buzzing across northern New Jersey and New York since November, including near sensitive U.S. military sites.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) claimed that an Iranian mothership located off the East Coast was responsible for the drones over his state. Both the Pentagon and White House have denied that any foreign entity is behind the New Jersey drone phenomenon.

The Iranian drone ship in the Persian Gulf shows Tehran has the capability to launch drones, but the vessel is located thousands of miles away from the U.S. coast, well out of range of even a long-range drone.

Drones have also flown near sensitive U.S. military sites across the country and even at bases housing American troops in the United Kingdom.

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