New details of the attack on the 600-foot long Mercer Street tanker have revealed that drones were used to spread death and destruction. Two were killed in the attack. The New York Times reported that two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that “the attack appeared to have been carried out by several unmanned Iranian drones that crashed into living quarters underneath the ship’s command center, or bridge.” This looks like a serious and complex attack that is not just a major escalation, but a new use of Iran drone technology.
Iran has been increasing its drone abilities in recent years. It has a large number of militarized drones such as the Shahed, Mohajer and Ababil lines. Iran also recently showcased a new drone named after Gaza. Iran claims its drones have long ranges as they can reach more than 1,000 miles, and that some can carry missiles while others can be pre-programmed to carry out precision attacks by slamming into targets. For instance, Iranian-style kamikaze drones have been developed by Hamas in Gaza, where they are called Shehab, and by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who use the Qasef drone. The Houthis have terrorized Saudi Arabia with these drones, as they carry a warhead in their body and are programmed to strike a target using some kind of gyroscope and guidance system. US and regional Gulf reports have linked drones across the region to Iranian construction and blueprints via details like gyroscopes.
Iran has a plethora of drones. Its Shahed-129 looks like an American Predator, as does its new “Gaza” drone, a Shahed-149. ,The Shahed 121 is a smaller reconnaissance drone, and the Shahed 123 tis also part of the same line of drones. Iran also makes drones called Raad, Saegeh, Sarir, Fotros, Karrar, Kian and others. Some of the Iranian drones mentioned in sources may not exist, such as the Shahed-136, which was allegedly sent to Yemen in January, in order to target Israel .
The important point is that Iran relies on drones to threaten enemies around the region, usually by transferring the drones to proxies and allies such as Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iraqi militias. Iranian operators may fly the drones from places like the T-4 airbase in Syria, but the overall goal is that the attacks not be easily linked to Iran, when the drones are used against Israel, the US in Iraq, or Saudi Arabia, Kurdish forces and others. In some cases, parts and munitions that may be used in…
Read More: Israeli-linked tanker attacked by sophisticated Iranian drones