Lawmaker doubles down on bombshell that drones over New Jersey are from ‘Iran mothership’

A congressman is standing by his claim that mysterious drones spotted over his state are from an “Iranian mothership” off the East Coast.

Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, repeated his claim less than a day after the Pentagon said it is not true.

He accused the Pentagon of being “incredibly stupid and incredibly weak” when it comes to tackling the drones.

“I had credible individuals with high security clearances, and they came to me and again, these are reliable, credible individuals with security clearances who felt like they wanted to clear the air,” Van Drew told Fox News on Thursday.

“They were essentially whistleblowers and said, ‘Look, they believe there is a real possibility that it could be Iran,’” the lawmaker pointed out.

‘A ship can sail out. Not exactly on the New Jersey coast, not exactly there, but these drones, as observed by the Coast Guard, are coming in and out of the ocean,” he continued.

It came a day after Van Drew made the stunning claim outright that his sources said Iran had launched a “mother ship” carrying the drones about a month ago, and that it is now stationed off its coast.

Van Drew argued Thursday that the US is not being told the truth and that the American public is being treated as “stupid.”

His accusations were a response to the Pentagon, which almost immediately dismissed his initial claim Wednesday afternoon.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there is no so-called ‘mother ship’ launching drones toward the United States,” he said. Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.

She reiterated that the Pentagon does not believe the drones come from a foreign adversary, but also stated that they are not U.S. military drones.

Swarms of drones have been seen in New Jersey skies for weeks, prompting officials to call for a ‘limited state of emergency’

‘The government claims it’s not them. They say it’s not them, so who is it?’ Van Drew asked Thursday.

The Republican lawmaker claimed the drones are not a hobbyist’s “backyard drones” and are more advanced than commercially available drones.

He said the US needs real answers, but when asked to respond directly to the Pentagon rejecting his claim on Iran, Van Drew expanded his accusations.

“These drones could very well be launched from a ship,” he pointed out. ‘It could be hundreds of kilometers out to sea. These types of drones cover much greater distances.’

‘So there is a real possibility. Could it be China? Absolute. Could it be something else? That’s certainly possible,” he said.

Van Drew said, “They don’t know what it is, what it’s about. They didn’t take one with them to analyze it.’

He said even if officials provide more information, it will be “a month too late.”

The sightings began in mid-November with images from car-sized drones with flashing lights

According to a NJ local, this image shows approximately nine of the unidentified drones flying from the Atlantic Ocean into the Garden State on Thursday evening, December 5.

But the Pentagon wasn’t alone in rejecting lawmakers’ “mothership” claims.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also called Van Drew’s original comments about the drones coming from Iran a “wild statement.”

He noted that the FBI said there was no evidence to support Van Drew’s original claim.

“I’m not sure what he’s been watching lately, but maybe he wants to watch the news,” Murphy responded in a radio interview with WNYC.

He has been in contact with the White House about the situation. The governor said he understands people are frustrated and called it a top priority.

The FBI and local and state officials have been investigating the mysterious drone sightings that witnesses have noted on numerous occasions.

Residents have noticed the unexplained cluster of ‘drones’ and a possible fixed-wing aircraft for several weeks, which has raised concerns as they have been spotted over sensitive locations such as military instillations.

A top FBI official told lawmakers on Tuesday that they still don’t know where the drones came from or who is responsible for them.

But he did note that some drones are likely larger than commercially available drones.