Back then, American naval ships escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. Cooper said authorities had no current plans to reflag ships and escort them past Yemen.Instead, the US and its allies employ a “zone defense, and every once and a while we shift to a one-on-one,” he said.Cooper’s reference to the tensions from more than three decades ago underlines just how precarious the situation in the wider Mideast has become as worries of a regional conflict over the Israel-Hamas war grow.He spoke to the AP from the sidelines of a drone conference in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Under his command of the 5th Fleet, the naval force has created Task Force 59, a drone fleet to bolster its patrol of waterways in the region.Today, a variety of drones provide the 5th Fleet coverage across some 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) of Mideast waters the Navy otherwise wouldn’t have eyes on, Cooper said. That helps its efforts to interdict suspected drug and weapons shipments.US forces this month seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry from a ship bound for the Houthis in a raid that saw two Navy SEALs go missing. The US military’s Central Command said Sunday it now believes the SEALs are dead.While not directly saying his fleet’s drones played a part in the seizure, Cooper hinted at it.”They are specifically designed to conduct interdiction operations,” he said. He added: “There’s no squeaking anything by it.”Cooper’s command is set to end in February with the upcoming arrival of Rear Adm. George Wikoff in Bahrain. He noted the Navy and merchant shippers still face a serious threat from the Houthis as he prepares to leave.”What we need is a Houthi decision to stop attacking international merchant ships. Period,” Cooper said.
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