Mysterious drones over New Jersey do not come from an Iranian mothership: Pentagon

• The Pentagon denied claims that the drones hovering over New Jersey came from an Iranian mother ship.
• Rep. Jeff Van Drew made the claim on Fox News on Wednesday, citing “very qualified” sources.
• Federal, state and local officials are investigating unexplained drone activity over the state.

The mysterious drones hovering over New Jersey did not come from an “Iranian mothership,” according to the Pentagon.

The statement was made after dozens of drones were spotted at sensitive military sites across New Jersey.

Drones were also spotted over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in New Jersey.

Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew told Fox News on Wednesday that “very qualified” and “reliable” sources had indicated they came from an “Iranian mothership” in the Atlantic.

“They have fired drones into everything we can see or hear,” Van Drew said, adding that the drones should be “shot down.”

Van Drew sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Aviation Subcommittee.

However, at a press conference on Wednesday, Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, said: “There is no truth to that.”

“There is no Iranian vessel off the coast of the United States, and there is no so-called mother ship launching drones toward the United States,” she said, adding that there is currently no evidence that these activities are carried out by a ” someone else’s company or the work of an opponent.”

State Police said Nov. 19 that officers had observed “drone activity” over Morris County the night before after rumors “spread on social media.”

The officers’ sightings prompted the FBI to launch an investigation and the Federal Aviation Administration to impose flight restrictions.

Last week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he had convened a briefing with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and senior officials from DHS, the state’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the state’s police force to discuss reported drone activity.

On Monday, he told reporters they had no answers about where the drones came from or what they were doing, but he was taking the sightings “dead seriously.”

He said that while 49 drone sightings were reported on Sunday alone, the DHS, FBI, Secret Service, State Police and agencies at all levels of government had no concerns about public safety.

However, Rep. Dawn Fantasia on Wednesday dismissed the claim that there was no known or credible threat as “incredibly misleading.”

In a post on

“At this point I believe military intervention is the only way forward,” she said, adding: “Without proactivity there will be no answers.”

More than 20 mayors across New Jersey signed a letter Monday calling for “transparency” about the investigation.

“Either senior officials know what is going on and are not concerned, or they are negligent for not intercepting and identifying one of these drones,” they wrote, according to reports.

The FAA told BI it continues to support interagency partners in assessing the situation and reported sightings.

The FBI, New Jersey State Police and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.