Iran Claims Capture of US Submersible Drone

U.S. Navy sailors conduct training with an Anduril Dive-LD unmanned underwater vessel in Keyport, Wash., on Dec. 11, 2024. U.S. Navy/Loren Nichols

Iranian forces claimed to capture a U.S.-operated, unmanned, underwater vessel operating in the Strait of Hormuz on Sept. 8.

In a statement shared with Iranian state media on Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed to have carried out a “complex intelligence and operational action,” resulting in the capture of the submersible drone.

When reached for comment about the Iranian claims, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins told The Epoch Times that an underwater drone operated by U.S. forces had malfunctioned more than a day prior.

“It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations,” Hawkins said. “The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment. U.S. operations in area waters continue.”

The CENTCOM spokesman said it’s possible that IRGC forces managed to capture the drone after it began to drift toward Iran.

“We’re not concerned because the defective drone was in a commercially available configuration,” he added.

The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency identified the captured vessel as an Anduril Dive-LD.

Company documentation indicates the submersible drone can be used for a variety of missions, including surveillance and mine warfare operations, and has a maximum endurance of about 10 days of continuous operation. Anduril announced it delivered its first Dive-LD drone to the U.S. Navy in April of last year.

Anduril did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the possible capture of one of its underwater drones by Iranian forces.

The reported capture came a day after Iranian forces claimed to have attacked another U.S.-operated unmanned surface vessel attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM denied those Iranian claims.

U.S. and Iranian forces have fought for control of the Strait of Hormuz for the past six months. After U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Iranian forces began targeting commercial ships in the waterway, constricting traffic along a key artery for global oil exports.

Last week, U.S. forces launched strikes targeting Iranian missile launchers and mine-laying capabilities near the strait. After Iranian forces targeted nearby U.S. warships on Sept. 5, U.S. forces launched further strikes to disable three Iranian oil tankers.

This week, Iranian officials raised new threats to implement a maritime exclusion zone over the Persian Gulf and sanction vessels attempting to enter the waterway without first coordinating with Iranian authorities.

Fuel prices have risen amid months of fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

In an interview on Sept. 7, Goldman Sachs global commodities research co-head Daan Struyven predicted oil prices could soon climb to $120 per barrel as a result of continued fighting. In a social media post the same day, President Donald Trump predicted fuel prices would fall quickly once the U.S.–Iran conflict concludes.