Published: 11:16 PM, 08 September 2026
Iran claims seizing US submersible
Vessels transit the Hormuz Strait off the coast of Iran's southern port city of Bandar Abbas. -AFP
Iran on Tuesday captured an unmanned US submarine in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has blockaded during the months-long war in West Asia, Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) claimed.
"The IRGC naval forces captured one of the most modern, unmanned, and smart submarines of the US terrorist army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in a complex intelligence and operational action at dawn today," the Guards said in a statement broadcast by state television.
The US has not yet commented on the reported development so far.
The IRGC said it would release photographs and detailed video footage of the captured US asset in the coming hours, state-backed Press TV reported.
Iranian media said the unmanned underwater vehicle was designed for tasks including "subsurface reconnaissance and surveillance, seabed mapping, mine detection and inspection of submarine cables and pipelines."
Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz under blockade since the war began in late February. The key waterway normally handles around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
The United States has responded by imposing a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran says it intends to collect fees from ships passing through the strait to pay for services such as environmental protection. Washington strongly opposes the move.
