Iran Claims Capture Of Second US Submarine Drone
Iran Claims Capture Of Second US Submarine Drone
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it captured a second US unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the vessel was conducting an intelligence mission in the strategic waterway.
The IRGC Navy said on Sunday that its forces seized the American-made underwater vehicle during what it described as a complex operation involving intelligence capabilities and electronic warfare.
According to Iranian state media, the vehicle was identified as a Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle and was operating in the Strait of Hormuz for what the Guards described as espionage.
“Through a coordinated, complex operation involving intelligence oversight and electronic warfare, IRGC naval forces’ personnel successfully captured an advanced unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) belonging to the terrorist US military,” the IRGC naval forces said in a statement carried by state television.
The Guards said the vehicle was now in the possession of Iranian specialists, who would examine it and attempt to recover information stored on the system.
The claim comes less than three weeks after Iran announced the capture of another US unmanned submarine near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
In that earlier incident, announced on September 8, Iranian officials identified the captured vessel as a Dive-LD, an autonomous underwater vehicle developed by US defence technology company Anduril.
The US military confirmed that one of its underwater drones had been lost but disputed Tehran’s description of the incident.
A Pentagon spokesperson said at the time that the drone had malfunctioned more than a day before it was recovered by Iranian forces and had been surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations.
The Pentagon also said the vehicle was an older model that had not collected sensitive data and did not carry classified sonar or radar equipment.
Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vessels and described the system as an autonomous platform designed to operate in dangerous environments where its loss was considered possible.
The latest Iranian claim has not been independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from the US military that the Guards had captured a second American underwater vehicle.
Such vehicles can conduct surveillance, map the seabed, inspect underwater infrastructure and support mine-warfare operations without placing sailors inside a manned submarine.
The Dive-LD captured in the earlier incident, for example, is about 5.8 metres long and designed to operate autonomously for up to 10 days at depths of as much as 6,000 metres, according to its manufacturer.
Anduril says the system can be configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, mine warfare and other missions.
Iran has maintained restrictions on shipping through the waterway during the ongoing conflict with the United States, while Washington has sought to maintain maritime access.
The Strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the wider Indian Ocean, making it a critical route for global oil and gas shipments.
The latest underwater-drone claim also follows a warning from Iranian Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami that Tehran would not accept a situation in which Iran was prevented from trading while its adversaries continued to use the region’s strategic waterways.
“If Iran cannot trade, if Iran cannot live, no one will be able to trade or live,” Hatami said, according to Iranian state media.
“The Strait of Hormuz is the strait of our dignity and honour,” he added, warning that Iran would not allow its enemies to use the strategic chokepoint while the Iranian people were deprived of access to it.
The United States has not publicly confirmed the IRGC’s latest account of the alleged capture.
