Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) issued an update about Iran’s drone ships after previously claiming a “mothership” off the East Coast was responsible for the unmanned aircraft systems Americans are seeing in the night skies.
“I’m going to tell you the real deal. Iran launched a mothership that contains these drones,” Van Drew said during a Fox News interview. “It’s off the East Coast of the United States of America. They’ve launched drones.”
The Pentagon immediately denied the claim, saying there is “no evidence” a foreign adversary is responsible.
While the Republican lawmaker initially doubled down on his claim, by Friday he issued a statement with an update about Iran’s drone ships.
"Almost a month has gone by, and we still have no answers from our government. The number of drones we are seeing is only increasing," he said. "While it has been verified that Iran does have three drone ships, new satellite images show they are currently stationed off the southern coast of Iran. This new information only brings us closer to figuring out what is really going on. It is unacceptable to hear the government contradict itself by saying they do not know who is operating these drones, while at the same time telling us there is no reason to be concerned. I remain fully committed to ensuring the security of the people of South Jersey and the nation as a whole."
President-elect Donald Trump believes the Biden administration “knows what is happening.”
"Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage they can go right inside. They know where it came from and where it went," Trump said on Monday.
"For some reason, they don't want to comment, and I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows. Our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense," he continued. "I can't imagine it's the enemy, because if it was the enemy they'd blast it."