Iran Guards say they seized US submarine drone

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday they seized an unmanned US submarine drone at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway Tehran has blockaded during the months-long Middle East war.

In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the Guards said their naval forces captured the vehicle at dawn in what they described as a complex intelligence and operational action. They said the drone was among the most modern unmanned smart submarines in the US military fleet, delivered in 2025, and that images would be released later.

Iranian media reported that the unmanned underwater vehicle could be used for subsurface reconnaissance and surveillance, seabed mapping, mine detection and inspection of submarine cables and pipelines.

Iran has maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports, since the outbreak of the war in late February. The United States has imposed a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran says it plans to charge fees from transiting vessels to fund services including environmental protection, a move the United States opposes.