Iran Says It Captured US Underwater Drone in Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Tuesday that its naval forces captured an advanced U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed it captured an advanced U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz and released a video purportedly showing the vessel. The United States acknowledged losing an underwater drone but said it was an older model that had malfunctioned and did not contain classified equipment or sensitive data.
Iran Releases Video of Captured Underwater Vehicle
Iranian state media said the IRGC Navy seized the U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle during an operation near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically important waterways. Iran Plans Exclusion Zone Near Strait of Hormuz After US Strikes 3 Oil Tankers.
Iran Captures US Underwater Drone in Strait of Hormuz
🚨🇮🇷🇺🇸 JUST IN: Iran releases footage it claims shows a U.S. MQ-1 drone being intercepted over the Strait of Hormuz. 🔥 https://t.co/gKZX9tqfYs pic.twitter.com/l0zpB16NuG
— IRAN IRGCC (@IranIRGCC) September 9, 2026
The IRGC described the vessel as one of the most advanced and intelligent unmanned submarines used by the U.S. military and said it had been captured during what it called an intelligence and operational action. Iran later released footage purportedly showing the underwater vehicle after its recovery.
US Says Drone Had Malfunctioned
The Pentagon disputed the suggestion that Iran had captured an operational U.S. military asset. A U.S. Central Command spokesperson said the underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day earlier while surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The spokesperson said the vehicle was an older and defective model that had neither collected sensitive data nor carried classified sonar or radar equipment. Donald Trump Says US Has ‘Almost Total Control’ of Strait of Hormuz, Calls Iran Economy ‘Totally Collapsing’.
Vehicle Identified as Anduril's Dive-LD
The underwater vehicle was identified as the Dive-LD, an autonomous underwater system developed by U.S. defence technology company Anduril. The Dive-LD can be used for missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering and the inspection of underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines. According to the company, the system is designed to operate in challenging environments where the loss of a vehicle can be an expected risk.
Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vessels but said the system was designed as an "attritable" platform intended for operations in dangerous environments.
Strategic Strait of Hormuz at Centre of Incident
The incident took place near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route connecting the Persian Gulf with international waters. The waterway is particularly important for global energy supplies, and military activity in the area has increased amid continuing tensions between the United States and Iran. The latest incident involving the underwater drone came as the two countries faced a fresh escalation in regional hostilities.
Incident Comes Amid Rising US-Iran Tensions
The dispute over the underwater vehicle followed a broader escalation involving U.S. and Iranian forces. U.S. Central Command said American forces had struck Iranian oil tankers after what it described as Iranian missile attacks targeting a U.S. Navy warship. Iran, meanwhile, has continued to announce retaliatory actions and military operations in the region.
Conflicting Accounts Remain
Iran has presented the incident as the capture of an advanced U.S. underwater system, while Washington has maintained that the drone was already inoperable after a malfunction. The U.S. account does not dispute that Iran recovered the vehicle, but says the drone was no longer operational and did not contain sensitive technology or classified data.
The differing accounts underline the continuing information and military dispute between Tehran and Washington as tensions remain high around the Strait of Hormuz.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2026 02:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
