Iran claims capture of second US underwater drone in Hormuz, releases footage | WATCH

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Sunday (Sep 27) claimed that they have seized an American underwater drone in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most strategic shipping route that has been disrupted since the war began in the Middle East. The IRGC claimed that the submarine drone was being used for “espionage purposes”. The incident comes weeks after Iran said that it captured another US unmanned vehicle in the strait.

“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, according to state TV.

The IRGC added that the drone was “operating in the Strait of Hormuz for espionage purposes”. It identified the model as a Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle. The underwater drone was “now in the hands of the force’s specialists for data recovery,” they added.

“The IRGC Navy firmly declares that the Strait of Hormuz is a restricted zone; we are taking decisive and unceasing action against dangerous manoeuvres and unauthorised transit within the strait,” the IRGC said.

Earlier this month, the Iranian Guards said that they captured another US submarine drone in the Srait of Hormuz, calling it one of the most advanced systems operated by the US military. Iranian state media had identified the vessel as the Dive-LD, an autonomous underwater vehicle manufactured by California-based defence technology company Anduril Industries. The IRGC Navy described the submarine as a “prize” now in Iranian possession.

The US military, however, had disputed the significance of the incident that happened on September 8. A Pentagon spokesperson said the underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day before Iran announced the seizure and had been surveying regional waters as part of ongoing US operations.

The defective vehicle was an older Dive-LD model and “neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment”, the spokesperson said.