Fears Donald Trump is getting closer to order a new attack on Iran have skyrocketed amid claims the Pentagon’s first kamikaze drone unit is poised to take part in military action against Tehran. The unit, known as Task Force Scorpion, grew out of an experimental US military drone programme and has since developed into a fully operational force.
It is now prepared for deployment, according to a statement emailed by US Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins. He said: « We established the squadron last year to rapidly equip our warfighters with new combat drone capabilities that continue to evolve. »
One of the unit’s drones completed a successful test launch in the Arabian Gulf in mid‑December, taking off from the flight deck of the USS Santa Barbara, a littoral combat ship currently operating in the region as part of the US naval presence.
According to defense analyst Anna Miskelley of Forecast International, the unit’s deployment signals a shift away from relying on expensive systems such as the MQ‑9 Reaper, which are becoming harder to justify in high‑attrition, swarm‑style conflicts.
The one‑way attack drone unit now forms part of the largest US military buildup in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a deployment ordered by Trump to increase pressure on Iran to enter nuclear negotiations, Bloomberg reports.
Meanwhile, US–Iran talks continued in Geneva on Thursday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reporting that the discussions had made solid progress and that another round could take place “very soon,” potentially within about a week.
In recent days, Mr Trump warned Iran it was facing another US attack should it not agree within days to a nuclear deal.
Washington launched Operation Midnight Hammer in June last year, which saw the US Air Force and Navy attacking three nuclear facilities in Iran.
Iran maintains his nuclear programme is for civilian use only.
Source link
