The Pentagon has released a new batch of unidentified anomalous phenomena files, including videos and reports from Iraq, Syria, the Gulf of Oman, and waters near the UAE, after President Donald Trump ordered a wider disclosure of government-held UFO material. The files do not prove alien visitors dropped by the Middle East—sorry, sci-fi department—but they do show US military sensors repeatedly catching objects that analysts could not fully identify.
The release includes dozens of videos, images, reports, and older government records. Some of the Middle East material dates from 2013 to 2024, with recorded incidents over some of the most heavily monitored airspace and waters in the world. Ahram Online reported that one file shows a white thermal object briefly appearing over the Gulf before disappearing from a US military sensor feed, while another set of surveillance images from Syria captured odd lights that operators could not immediately explain.
The National reported that at least three files relate to unusual sightings near the UAE, including a June 1, 2024, infrared recording over the Gulf of Oman. A mission report described that object as “consisting of an object with a vertical pole or bar attached to the bottom of the object.” One observer suggested it may have been a reflection from something in the water. Other clips show small, fast-moving objects over water, near ships, or across military camera feeds.
The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon’s broader release includes more than 20 videos of objects captured by military sensors in places including Syria, Japan, and North America. One US military report described an object over Syria in 2023 as “shaped as a bouncy ball” and traveling 483 mph for at least seven minutes; it was later deemed benign.
President Trump wrote that “the people can decide for themselves,” while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation and it’s time the American people see it for themselves.”
Still, experts urged caution. A 2024 Pentagon report found no confirmed evidence that the US government had recovered alien technology or verified extraterrestrial life. In this file dump, “unidentified” still mostly means exactly that: unexplained, not intergalactic.