Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed its naval forces have captured an unmannedย US submarineย at the entrance to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.ย In a statement on Tuesday, Iranian naval forces said they seized ‘one of the most modern, smart and unmanned submarines of the US terrorist army’ in what they described as a ‘complex intelligence and operational operation’ at dawn.ย
The statement claimed that the unmanned underwater vessel is equipped with some of the latest technology in the field of underwater systems and was delivered to the US military fleet in 2025.ย The forces also released a video of the submarine.ย “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.
The IRGC said the captured submarine is of a Dive-LD model, saying it is a product of Anduril Industries, an American company manufacturing advanced autonomous systems and defense technology to protect the US and its allied forces. It further said that Dive-LD, which was delivered to the US Navy last year, is about 5.8 meters long and weighs nearly three tons, and is designed to independently carry out long missions in deep waters.
Underwater drone malfunctioned: US
According to the New York Post, in response, a Pentagon spokesperson said an underwater drone had ‘malfunctioned more than a day ago.’ “It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment,” the spokesperson said.
Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vessels, but downplayed the significance of the incident. “Dive-LD is an attritable autonomous system, meaning it is designed from the outset to operate in dangerous environments where loss of the vehicle is an expected possibility,” a company spokesperson said.
According to Anduril’s website, Dive-LD can operate for up to 10 days without returning to base and is designed to dive to depths of as much as 19,700 feet. Dive-LD units cost about US 2.5 million each, US military news site DefenseScoop reported in 2024.
Iran attacks 20 US vessels
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According to news agency AFP, Iran launched fresh attacks against US targets in the Middle East on Wednesday, retaliating for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers and further escalating the conflict between the two countries.
Iran’s IRGC said it had attacked 20 US vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil and gas transit route that Tehran has largely controlled since the war began.
Iran also launched a fresh barrage of ballistic missiles towards US military targets in Jordan, the Associated Press reported, citing Iranian state-run media, in the latest escalation in the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Washington.ย
Shortly after the barrage, the Jordanian military announced that its air defence network intercepted and neutralised the incoming projectiles. According to an official army statement, Jordan’s defence systems detected 20 incoming ballistic missiles, successfully destroying 18 of them, while two impacted unpopulated terrain.
US destroys five Iranian oil tankers
Meanwhile, the US military said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers near Kharg Island after the IRGC twice targeted an American Navy warship with ballistic missiles over the past two days, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.ย
“US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The US warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM said in a statement.ย
In what it described as a response to Iran’s most recent failed attacks, CENTCOM said US forces conducted coordinated strikes against five vessels belonging to Iran’s state-linked maritime fleet. “Four crude oil carriers, the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco, were destroyed in the Gulf of Oman, while a fifth vessel, the M/T Derya, was hit near Kharg Island,” it said.ย
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