Iran Claims U.S. Underwater Drone Seized Near Strait of Hormuz

New Delhi, 08 September 2026 Tensions between Iran and the United States have intensified after Iran claimed that its navy captured a U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement published by Sepah News, the official news outlet of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the navy said the vehicle, identified as a Dive-LD, was seized during a complex intelligence operation. Iran said the submersible was equipped with the world's most modern subsurface vehicle technology and released a video showing what it described as the captured drone. The claim comes as the U.S. military continues to invest heavily in unmanned naval systems, including underwater and surface vessels. These technologies are being developed to provide relatively cheaper ways to monitor large areas of ocean, collect intelligence and track adversary ships and submarines while reducing risks to military personnel. Following the Iranian announcement, the U.S. military said one of its underwater drones had "malfunctioned" more than a day earlier while surveying regional waters, but it did not confirm whether the malfunctioning drone was the same vehicle Iran said it had captured. A Pentagon spokesperson said, "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 U.S. response therefore differs sharply from Iran's description of the vehicle as one of the most advanced unmanned underwater systems. The incident nevertheless highlights the increasing role of autonomous and unmanned platforms in military operations around strategically important waters such as the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Washington has increased economic pressure on Tehran by placing 27 Iranian airlines on its Specially Designated Nationals List, targeting all remaining Iranian airlines. The U.S. Treasury Department claimed that "Iran's commercial airlines have long supported the Iranian regime's destabilising activities," alleging that the IRGC uses ostensibly private airlines to procure and transport weapons and ferry personnel. The United States had previously sanctioned Mahan Air in October 2011 and later targeted several companies identified as its general sales agents. The reported drone incident and the latest airline sanctions underline the continuing confrontation between Iran and the United States on both military and economic fronts. While Iran has portrayed the alleged seizure as an intelligence success, Washington has maintained that its malfunctioning drone was an older system without sensitive or classified equipment. The conflicting accounts leave the exact circumstances of the incident unclear, but the episode adds another layer to already strained relations between the two countries.