Iran claims capture of US underwater drone that Pentagon says malfunctioned
Iranian forces said they captured an American underwater drone near the Strait of Hormuz, but the US military said the device had malfunctioned earlier. The incident comes as tensions and exchanges of fire resume in the region.
Iranian naval forces say they have captured an American underwater drone near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States military insists the uncrewed vehicle had already broken down and posed no threat.
A spokesman for US Central Command, Capt Tim Hawkins, said the submersible was on a surveillance mission in regional waters when it ceased functioning more than a day before the reported seizure. Hawkins described the device as an older model that was defective, and said it was not carrying any sensitive intelligence or classified sonar or radar equipment. He added that American operations in the area continue.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces had captured the drone in what state television called a 'complex intelligence and operational action at dawn'. The IRGC referred to the craft as one of the most modern unmanned submarines belonging to the 'US terrorist army', according to the broadcast, and promised that images of the capture would be made public within hours.
The incident comes amid ongoing tensions in the region. Iran has enforced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – a waterway that normally carries around one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply – since the beginning of the conflict more than six months ago. The United States has responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports.
The confrontations had eased during August, but exchanges of fire have recently resumed between the two countries, pushing international oil prices back up to July levels. The war has been unpopular in the United States, where President Trump has struggled to end it. So far, 18 American service members have been killed.
Iranian officials have previously stated that thousands of people have died as a result of US and Israeli strikes, a figure that outside observers, including American monitoring groups, have broadly corroborated.
