US forces in Arabian Gulf afraid of Iran’s drones?

Agencies
August 25, 2017

High above the Arabian Gulf, an Iranian drone crosses the path of American fighter jets lining up to land on the USS Nimitz.

The drone buzzes across the sky at least a mile above the massive aircraft carrier and is spotted by the fighters. It is unarmed.

But for the senior Navy commanders on the ship, the presence of the enemy drone so close is worrying. Their biggest fear is the surveillance aircraft will start carrying weapons, posing a more direct threat to US vessels transiting one of the world’s most significant strategic and economic international waterways.

“It’s just a matter of time before we see that,” said Navy Rear Admiral Bill Byrne, commander of the carrier strike group that includes the Nimitz. He said the Iranian drone activity has “generated a lot of discussion” and was becoming an increasingly pressing matter of concern.

If, at some point, Byrne believes a drone is threatening his ship, he and his staff would have to carefully proceed through the required responses — efforts at communication, sounding the horn, firing flares and warning shots, and flying a helicopter close to the unmanned vehicle. If all those efforts fail and he still perceives a threat, Byrne said it would be his duty, his “responsibility,” to shoot down the Iranian drone.

So far, it hasn’t come to that. But the drones have become an even more dangerous security risk as US carriers in the Arabian Gulf like the Nimitz play a key role in Iraq and Syria. Planes from these ships are regularly flying to each country to bomb Daesh militants and other targets. From the Nimitz alone, US fighter jets flew missions resulting in at least 350 bombs being dropped on Daesh militants just in the last month.

Iran has routinely challenged US ships and aircraft across the Gulf, asserting at times that the entire waterway is its territory. Navy commanders say Iran’s unpredictable behavior is the biggest safety hazard.
“Iranians don’t always follow the rules,” Byrne said. “There is a well-established set of norms, standards and laws. They don’t tend to follow them.”

To counter the threat, Pentagon experts are searching for new ways to deter, defeat or disable the drones. According to Byrne and Cdr. Dave Kurtz, the Nimitz’s executive officer, Iranian drones fly over the carrier strike group almost daily.

They said the danger is that as the F/A-18 fighters return from their missions in Iraq and Syria, they circle overhead, lining up for their turn to land on the carrier. Even if the Iranian drones are only meant to annoy, their buzzing across the American flight paths risks an accident.

Up in the carrier’s control room, a book on Iranian naval and maritime forces sits above the radar screen. Commanders on the ship announce when a drone appears. Then, they go through a careful, planned response of attempted radio calls and warnings.

Gen. Joseph Votel, the top US commander in the Middle East, visited the Nimitz on Thursday, also stopping on the nearby USS Vella Gulf, a guided missile cruiser. The drone, he said, also flew over that ship.

“The proliferation of drones is a real challenge,” said Votel, who was finishing his 10-day trip to the Middle East and Afghanistan. “It’s growing exponentially.”
Speaking with traveling reporters, Votel said the Pentagon has sought to devise more high-tech ways to handle the drones through the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization, originally set up in 2006 to counter improvised explosive devices used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan to kill and maim American troops.

Much as it did with that decade-old roadside bomb battle, the organization now focuses on how to deal with Iran’s drones, Votel said. He didn’t provide details, but he acknowledged that US cyber capabilities could be used to defeat a drone or the network controlling it.

The military is training troops on drone response, he said. But right now, said Byrne, they’re still following their normal procedures. And he still hasn’t been forced to shoot one down.

Byrne described how a helicopter from the Nimitz flew by the drone to ensure it wasn’t weaponized. In the month the Nimitz has been in the Gulf, efforts to speak with the drone operators have been hit or miss, he said.

“Sometimes they answer, sometimes they don’t,” he said, echoing experiences American forces have had with small Iranian fast boats that pose a similar threat of coming too close by sea.

When the Iranians do answer, Byrne said, they often “challenge our assertion that they are flying into danger.” The drones fly out of airfields up and down the Iranian coast, mainly watching US ships and taking photos.

On Thursday, the Nimitz was about 40 miles from the Iranian coast, halfway between the Islamic Republic and Bahrain.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Dubai, Apr 28: Riyadh municipality has announced 13 requirements to restore commercial activity in malls starting Wednesday (April 29), in accordance with the government’s coronavirus precautionary measures.

The requirements include: the continued closure of all entertainment and playing areas inside malls, and not allowing the entry of children under the age of 15.

The municipality requires all malls to ensure the availability of medical examination and sterilization teams to measure the temperature of all individuals entering the mall at all entrances throughout opening hours, prevent any person with a temperature exceeding 38 degrees Celsius from entering, remove all chairs and benches in the corridors, and provide masks and gloves for visitors at the entrances.

All malls are to have security personnel stationed at all entrances to ensure that visitors are wearing masks.

The municipality also requires all malls to sterilize the entire facility every 24 hours, allocate rooms for medical isolation when there is any suspicion of an individual being infected with COVID-19, ensure the presence of a sufficient number of security personnel, and carry out regular rounds to verify full compliance, and suspend the valet service.

It also called for malls to put up explanatory signs of the guidelines to ensure that everyone understands the precautionary measures.

Malls should rely on the use of escalators and stairs for movement between floors, and in the event they are not available, only two people are allowed to ride the elevator at a time.

Revised curfew

Saudi Arabia had revised on April 21 its coronavirus curfew timings for the holy month of Ramadan, allowing residents in all areas and cities not currently under a 24-horu lockdown to go out between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

However, areas under a complete lockdown will only be allowed to go out for essential needs, such as grocery shopping or medical visits, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Residents in these areas must stay within their neighborhoods

A 24-hour lockdown was previously imposed on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran, and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif, and Khobar.

The government had imposed a full lockdown on the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah as well. Other cities and governorates had a curfew implemented from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Ajman, Apr 5: A bakery worker in Ajman has been detained for spitting in the bread dough as he prepared bread at the bakery, police said.

The General Command of Ajman Police arrested the Asian worker in coordination with Ajman Municipality after investigators suggested that he intentionally spat in the dough while preparing bread at a bakery which is located in Ajman.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Ghafli, Director of Al-Jarf Al-Shamel Police Station, said a team from police had immediately gone to arrest the worker after receiving a report from the municipality confirming that the man spat in the bread dough.

Officials said a customer had filmed the Asian as he spat in the dough while preparing the bread at the bakery during the evening.

The customer then filed a complaint to the municipality with the supporting evidence of a video as the worker was doing the buzzer act.

Police said the man was taken for for psychological examination as he's being prepared to be referred to the public prosecution.

Meanwhile, the bakery has been shut down by the municipality for violating food hygiene and public health rules.

Lt. Col. Al-Ghafli has appealed to the public to report persons or any acts that could harm the health and safety of the public.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kuwait will allow citizens and residents to travel to and from the country, starting August 1, the government communication center tweeted on early Thursday, citing a cabinet decision.

The decision excludes residents coming from Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal.

Last month, Kuwait announced it would partially resume commercial flights from August, but does not expect to reach full capacity until a year later, as its aviation sector gradually recovers from a suspension sparked by the Covid-19 crisis.

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