The Revolutionary Guards said its naval forces captured an American-made Remus 600 unmanned underwater vehicle during an operation in the strategic waterway.
By Wapcodehub9ja LIVE News: International Affairs Desk
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says its naval forces have seized a second U.S.-made unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz, adding another incident to the growing confrontation surrounding the strategic waterway.
The IRGC Navy said on Sunday that its forces carried out a coordinated operation involving intelligence capabilities and electronic warfare to capture the underwater vehicle. Iranian authorities identified the system as a Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle.
According to the IRGC statement, the vehicle was operating in the Strait of Hormuz for what Iranian authorities described as espionage purposes. The Guards said the captured system had been handed over to specialists who were working to recover information from it.
The announcement follows another reported Iranian seizure of a U.S. underwater drone earlier this month. On September 8, Iranian forces said they had captured a different unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
That earlier vehicle was identified as a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater system developed by U.S. defence company Anduril. The Pentagon subsequently said an American underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day earlier while surveying regional waters, while Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vehicles.
The latest Remus 600 claim has not been independently verified. The available information concerning the circumstances of the alleged seizure comes primarily from Iranian military authorities and state-linked reporting, leaving questions about how the vehicle was intercepted and the condition in which it was recovered.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategically important maritime routes because of its importance to international energy and commercial shipping. The waterway has become a major flashpoint during the continuing Middle East conflict, with Iran maintaining restrictions on maritime movement and the United States taking countermeasures around Iranian ports.
The reported capture also highlights the expanding role of autonomous underwater systems in modern military operations. Such vehicles can be used for missions including seabed surveys, surveillance, mine-countermeasure operations and underwater infrastructure inspection.
Iran’s possession of the claimed vehicle could allow its specialists to examine the system and attempt to recover information from its mission equipment. The extent of any information that could be obtained, however, remains unclear.
The latest development adds to the wider military and technological contest around the Strait of Hormuz, where control of maritime access, surveillance systems and unmanned platforms has become increasingly important. Further information from Iranian or U.S. authorities could clarify the circumstances surrounding the reported seizure.
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