TEHRAN, September 27 — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed on Sunday that it had captured an advanced US unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing it of conducting espionage operations in the strategic waterway.
Iranian state media identified the captured vehicle as a REMUS 600, an autonomous underwater vehicle used for a range of underwater missions.
According to the IRGC Navy, the vehicle was intercepted during what it described as a coordinated operation involving intelligence capabilities and electronic warfare.
The Iranian force claimed the unmanned vehicle had been operating in the Strait of Hormuz for intelligence-gathering purposes before it was seized.
Iranian specialists are now examining the captured underwater drone and attempting to recover data stored on the system, according to the IRGC.
The United States had not immediately provided a public response to Iran’s latest claims at the time of reporting.
The reported seizure comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime passages.
The IRGC also claimed that the latest incident involved the second US underwater drone captured by Iranian forces this month.
Earlier in September, Iran said it had seized another US unmanned underwater vehicle near the Strait of Hormuz. US military officials subsequently acknowledged the loss of that vehicle but said it had malfunctioned before being captured.
The latest development adds another point of friction between Tehran and Washington as tensions continue around the strategically important Gulf waterway.