Nearly a month after Washington and Tehran signed an interim peace deal designed to put an end to the US-Israeli war against Iran, drones and missiles are once again hurtling back and forth across the Persian Gulf. Incensed by the US attempt to undercut Iran’s de facto control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz by urging container ships to take an alternative route along the Omani coast, Tehran has renewed its attacks on freighters crossing the narrow waterway through what it describes as “unauthorised” routes. The US, in turn, has launched deadly air strikes against military infrastructure across Iran’s southeast coast, prompting Tehran to once again target Gulf states hosting US military assets. Read moreMiddle East live: US military conducts ‘90-minute wave’ of strikes on Iran Washington on Tuesday reimposed a naval blockade on Iran’s ports, and US President Donald Trump has threatened to target civilian infrastructure – including bridges and power plants, in possible contravention of international law – if Tehran doesn’t come back to the negotiating table. So far, unfortunately, so familiar. But on Sunday night, the US unleashed a new weapon in its vast arsenal. Black-and-white footage posted on social media by US Central Command (CENTCOM) shows three unmanned boats surging through the water towards what the US military alleged was a submarine and ship maintenance facility in the port city of Bandar Abbas. The footage lurches to a first-person view, taking us behind a drone’s lifeless eye, and colour returns to the world. A moment before impact, the footage returns to a grainy aerial shot and the pier is lost in black smoke and white fire. It was the first time that the US has deployed naval drones in combat.