Tehran, September 2026 : Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces had targeted a US unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in the Strait of Hormuz, further escalating tensions in the strategically important waterway.
In a statement published by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the USV, identified as a Saildrone Explorer-type vessel, was carrying out what it described as an “aggressive mission” when it was struck at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC said Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vehicles had previously been deployed in the region by the US Fifth Fleet and Task Force 59, which is headquartered in Bahrain. It claimed that the US naval base in Bahrain had subsequently come under Iranian strikes and that the USVs are now operated by a unit based in Khasab, Oman, according to Xinhua news agency.
The IRGC reiterated its claim that the Strait of Hormuz was closed and under Iranian control, warning that any “hostile presence” in the strategic waterway would be targeted.
The latest development follows another reported incident involving an American unmanned underwater system. On Tuesday, the IRGC Navy said its forces had captured a Dive-LD, described by Iranian officials as one of the US Army's most modern and advanced unmanned submarines, at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military subsequently said one of its underwater drones had malfunctioned while conducting a survey of regional waters. Washington did not confirm whether the unmanned system had been seized by Iranian forces.
Iran has also issued warnings over a proposed “restricted zone” in regional waters. On Wednesday, IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said vessels entering the zone without coordination with Iranian authorities could face what Tehran described as “sanction measures”.
“If a vessel enters this zone without coordination with Iran, it will be subject to our sanction measures,” Mohebbi said, according to semi-official Tasnim news agency.
He said such measures could prevent vessels from using the Strait of Hormuz in the future and could also include denial of port access, insurance and other services required for maritime operations.
According to Mohebbi, the exact coordinates of the proposed restricted zone would be announced later. He said the area would generally begin near Iran's southeastern port city of Chabahar and extend across parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, including routes leading towards the Strait of Hormuz.
Describing the Strait of Hormuz as the “strait of Iran's power”, Mohebbi said Tehran would use its influence over the waterway to respond to what it described as enemy aggression and force such actions to stop.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global shipping route through which large volumes of oil and other energy supplies pass. Any disruption or heightened military activity in the waterway could therefore have wider implications for regional security and international energy markets.
Iran's latest statements also came amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. On Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned what it described as an “aggressive” US Army attack the previous night against several Iranian oil tankers.
The competing claims over unmanned military systems, maritime restrictions and attacks on vessels underline the growing tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
The claims regarding the USV being targeted and the alleged capture of the underwater drone have been made by Iranian authorities, while the US military has acknowledged a malfunction involving an underwater drone without confirming an Iranian seizure. The circumstances surrounding the latest incident remain subject to competing accounts.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
