Iran Claims Seizure of US Navy Unmanned Submarine in Strait of Hormuz
Iran claimed it captured a US Navy unmanned robotic submarine in the Strait of Hormuz, while the US Treasury imposed sweeping sanctions targeting Iran's civil aviation industry and foreign suppliers.
Iran claimed on Tuesday that it successfully intercepted and captured an unmanned submarine belonging to the United States military. In a statement issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which included no supporting visual evidence, it was claimed that the drone submarine was seized at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. "The American submarine is equipped with highly advanced technology and was supplied to the US Navy in 2025," the statement read, adding that it was captured "in a complex intelligence and operational mission at dawn." The Revolutionary Guard promised to publish footage of the vessel "in the coming hours."
As of yet, there has been no confirmation of this claim from the US military, nor has there been a denial. The Iranian news agency Tasnim claimed that the captured submarine is a Dive-LD model manufactured by the American firm Anduril Industries, which reported last year that it had indeed supplied submarines of this type to the US Navy. According to the company, the Dive LD is a robotic submarine weighing three tons, capable of reaching depths of 6,000 meters and operating autonomously for up to 10 days, with the potential to extend operations to several weeks.
According to the manufacturer, the submarine is suited for a variety of missions, including intelligence gathering, underwater reconnaissance and surveillance, mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare, and high-resolution seabed mapping. The British Financial Times reported this week that robotic submarines were utilized by the US Navy as part of the operation to clear maritime mines planted by Iran in Hormuz, aimed at blocking tanker traffic along the critical global economic route, though it remains unclear whether submarines of this model took part in the operation.
President Donald Trump announced last month that this operation has resulted in no remaining mines threatening the movement of oil tankers. The operation was part of a broader American effort to reopen traffic in Hormuz, allowing tankers to cross the strait and pump oil into the global economy—thus stripping Iran of the strategic leverage it gained when its attacks blocked the strait at the start of the war. While Iran claims the strait remains closed, the US maintains that the operation, in which the US Navy escorts and protects oil tankers in Hormuz, is achieving significant success.
There is considerable dispute over the actual volume of oil currently flowing through the strait. Trump claimed last week that this quantity reached 18 million barrels per day, close to the pre-war daily average of 20 million barrels. Many experts suspect he is inflating the figures, a view subsequently contradicted by his Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, who stated that the average volume currently stands at 9 million barrels of oil per day.
Economic Pressure and Regional Escalation
Against the backdrop of the ongoing American blockade on Iranian ports, it is assessed that Tehran may continue to escalate tensions with the US to counter the deepening economic crisis within the Islamic Republic—a crisis regime leaders fear could trigger a renewal of internal protests. Prior to the announcement regarding the seizure of the submarine, the Iranian news agency Fars claimed on Tuesday evening that Iranian forces had also allegedly shot down an American MQ-1 drone over the skies of Hormuz.
Ibrahim Rezai, a member of the National Security Commission in the Iranian parliament, appeared to taunt the US president, who has thus far declared a willingness to exercise "patience" with Iran until the economic blockade brings the regime to submission. "The noose is tightening around the enemy, and the situation has become difficult for them," Rezai claimed. "Trump! Fight, if you can."
Meanwhile, the economic blockade imposed by the US expanded on Tuesday evening with sweeping sanctions announced by the US Treasury Department in an attempt to paralyze Iran's civil aviation industry. The sanctions targeted commercial airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers. The Trump administration accused 36 entities included in the new sanctions of assisting the Islamic Republic's efforts to fly illegal weapons and cargo.
The new measures also expose foreign companies and governments conducting business with the sanctioned entities to secondary sanctions. "This is a warning to anyone doing business with the remaining Iranian airlines, all of which were added to our sanctions list today: you risk being cut off from the global financial system," stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Trump administration further accused private entities based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia of providing spare parts and logistical services to the Iranian airline Mahan Air. The airline, which operates flights from Tehran to dozens of destinations in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, has been subject to US sanctions for years over allegations of assisting the Revolutionary Guard, and Washington's Treasury Department stated that the new move aims to ground its operations entirely.
