A U.S. Navy ship rescued two Iranian mariners Saturday who had been lost in the Gulf of Oman in their small open boat for more than a week.
The dry cargo ship Charles Drew responded at 10 a.m. local time, after the Bahrain-based multinational coalition Combined Maritime Forces received a distress call from the mariners, the Navy said in a statement.
Charles Drew rescued the mariners about six hours later, providing food, water and medical care.
They were taken to an Omani coast guard ship sailing near the capital, Muscat, and both mariners were reportedly “in good health and spirits at the time of the transfer,” the Navy said.
“As professional mariners, we have a responsibility to help people in need at sea,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Combined Maritime Forces, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet, said in a statement.
RELATED
America’s top defense official vowed Saturday to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast.
The rescue comes amid continued tensions between Iran and the United States and U.S. allies in the region.
During a visit to Bahrain on Nov. 20, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States would counter Iran’s use of suicide drones in the Mideast and would prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier this month, Gulf Arab navies held a first-ever joint military exercise with Israeli warships in the Red Sea, a move coordinated by the U.S. Navy that followed the signing of the historic Abraham Accords in September 2020, which normalized relations between Israel and several Gulf states, according to the BBC.
Geoff is a senior staff reporter for Military Times, focusing on the Navy. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was most recently a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
Up to 40,000 Army National Guard soldiers haven't yet gotten the mandated COVID-19 vaccine.
The World War II Navy destroyer has become the deepest wreck to be discovered, according to explorers.
After learning of an upcoming deployment, the soldier began passing information he learned to members of 09A as he proposed and planned a deadly attack on his fellow troops, authorities said.
The C-17 crew brought in special ops to rescue Americans on the ground, evacuated Afghans in danger and transported the remains of U.S. troops.
The female airman faces about another year of advanced skills training before she is assigned to an operational unit.
Dubbed “America’s Game,” the friendly but intense football rivalry features future military officers battling for gridiron supremacy in a tradition that started in 1890.
There has been no official confirmation from the U.S. or Russian government that the Americans were being held.
VA sites in Portland and Seattle were scheduled to start work with the new system later this year.
The U.S. Marine presence is focused on the so-called first island chain in the western Pacific.
A video showing the military weapons Ukraine is relying on to defend itself against a Russian invasion attracted crowds at the Eurosatory conference.
The families of two military veterans from Alabama who are missing in Ukraine have joined together to seek information about their whereabouts.
This could finally break a years-long impasse between the Air Force and Congress over the iconic attack plane.
NATO defense ministers are discussing ways to bolster forces and deterrence along the military alliance’s eastern borders to dissuade Russia from planning further aggression.
With a dual-hatted commander, reservists now have more deployment opportunities.
The U.S. State Department says it is looking into reports that Russian or Russian-backed separatist forces in Ukraine captured at least two American citizens.
Load More