The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Thursday the launch of its first "multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force," known as the Task Force Falcon Strike, according to a statement released by the command.
The new task force will employ one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles and integrate air, surface and undersea unmanned combat systems, which will be operated jointly by U.S. military personnel and those from regional partner countries, the statement said.
The establishment of the new task force came nine months after CENTCOM established the Task Force Scorpion Strike, the first dedicated attack drone squadron of the U.S. military in the Middle East, according to the statement.
Head of CENTCOM Adm. Brad Cooper noted that the Task Force Falcon Strike will further expand the achievements of the Task Force Scorpion Strike.
The United States has begun consultations with regional partners and formally extended invitations to them to join, the statement said.
With more partners joining, the Task Force Falcon Strike will integrate attack drone capabilities in the Middle East into a unified multi-domain, multinational deterrent force, it added.
US launches first-ever multinational attack drone task force
Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Thursday that no commercial vessel or oil tanker has been, or will be, able to cross the Strait of Hormuz safely without the Iranian armed forces' permission and supervision.
In a video message carried by Iranian media, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the headquarters' spokesman, said that, as in the past, the Strait of Hormuz is under Iran's full control and management, dismissing the United States' claims about vessels' normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz as "false and nothing but lies."
He added the U.S. "false" claims are indicative of its army's "desperation and helplessness," stressing that the U.S. leaders and army have well tested the Iranian armed forces' "power and resistance."
Zolfaghari stressed that Iran's armed forces are monitoring all movements by the United States and Israel in the region and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian people's rights as well as the country's national sovereignty and aspirations and will respond to any threat.
His remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on social media that the United States maintains "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz on Feb 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.
Iran allows no vessels to cross Hormuz without its permission
