Iran and U.S. Dispute Claim of Underwater Drone Capture

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says it captured a U.S. REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz and is trying to retrieve information stored on the craft. The claim is disputed: U.S. Central Command denied that Iran captured the vehicle, saying American forces maintain control of all operational drone assets. The supplied accounts provide no independent confirmation of the vehicle’s location or custody. The IRGC said the capture resulted from an operation involving intelligence and electronic warfare, and that the vehicle is in the hands of Iranian specialists seeking to recover its data. The reported effort and its results have not been independently verified. The IRGC also repeated its position that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and warned against unauthorized traffic, according to its statement. The accounts differ on the U.S. response. One report carried a denial attributed to U.S. Central Command, while another said the United States had not officially responded to the announcement. The available information does not establish when the reported denial was issued or clarify the scope of the response.