Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said its forces had targeted and destroyed a US unmanned surface vessel near the entrance to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, amid heightened military tensions between Tehran and Washington.

According to the IRGC Navy, the vessel was a Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vehicle conducting a mission near the Strait of Hormuz when it was targeted.

The IRGC Navy said the strategic waterway was under Iranian control and warned that any hostile military presence in the area would be treated as a target.

The announcement came amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States and increased military activity around the vital maritime passage, through which a significant share of the world's oil shipments passes.

Iran says it captured US unmanned submarine

In a separate announcement on the same day, the IRGC Navy said its forces had also captured a US unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

The force described the operation as a “complex intelligence and military effort” carried out at dawn and said the captured vehicle was among the most advanced unmanned underwater systems in the US military's fleet.

The IRGC said the submarine had been equipped with advanced underwater technology and was delivered to the US military in 2025. It added that images of the captured vehicle would be released.

Iranian Army forces also reported shooting down a US MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicle over Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, further highlighting the escalating military confrontation in and around the strategic waterway.

Iranian media identifies vehicle as Dive-LD

Iran's Tasnim News Agency identified the captured underwater vehicle as the Dive-LD, an autonomous submarine developed by US defense technology company Anduril Industries.

The vehicle was reportedly delivered in 2025 to a US Navy unit responsible for unmanned undersea systems.

According to specifications cited by Tasnim, the Dive-LD is approximately 5.8 metres long and weighs nearly three tonnes. It is designed to conduct autonomous, long-duration missions in deep waters and can reportedly remain underwater for up to 10 days.

The system is also designed to operate at depths of up to 6,000 metres and features a modular architecture that allows sensors and mission equipment to be installed or replaced relatively quickly.

The reported capture of the unmanned submarine, alongside Iran's claim of destroying a US unmanned surface vessel and downing an MQ-1 drone, marks a significant escalation in the use of unmanned military systems amid the broader Iran-US confrontation.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a particularly sensitive flashpoint because of its strategic importance to global energy supplies. Any prolonged military confrontation in the area could have wider implications for maritime security, international shipping and global oil markets.

The United States has not immediately confirmed the Iranian claims concerning the destruction or capture of its unmanned systems. (ILKHA)