Iran says it seized second US underwater drone

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had seized a second US military unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz. As tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington, the IRGC said the waterway remained closed to “unauthorized” shipping.

IRGC: Vehicle was conducting reconnaissance

In a statement, the IRGC said its naval forces had detained the US unmanned underwater vehicle in a complex operation that used intelligence superiority and electronic warfare capabilities.

The IRGC identified the vehicle as a US military “REMUS 600” model used for reconnaissance. According to Sepah News, an outlet affiliated with the IRGC, the autonomous underwater vehicle was handed over to specialists on Sunday for data recovery.

The IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz remained closed and that it would continue countering dangerous activity in the waterway, as well as movement along unauthorized routes.

US military denies claim

The US military disputed the IRGC’s statement regarding the latest incident. Washington said it retained control of all its operational unmanned vehicles.

On Sept. 8, the IRGC also said it had seized another US autonomous underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. The vehicle was identified as a “Dive-LD.”

The Pentagon later confirmed that the “Dive-LD” vehicle had been lost, saying it had malfunctioned and was not carrying classified systems or sensitive information.

Situation regarding Iran-US talks

The latest incident came after a delegation led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a visit to New York that there were no plans for new talks with the United States. US President Donald Trump, however, said this week that he expected additional mediated discussions to take place.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA, citing an informed source, reported that Tehran’s position had been conveyed to the US side through Qatar’s mediation last Tuesday and that Iran was awaiting Washington’s response. The source added that a new round of talks with the United States was not on the Iranian delegation’s agenda.

In an interview with US television, Araghchi said Washington had not officially communicated through mediators that it rejected Iran’s proposal concerning the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on the social media platform X, he wrote that Iran was prepared both for “real diplomacy” and “apocalyptic war.”