Iran said it had seized a US underwater drone in the Strait of Hormuz

Vessels sail near the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Musandam, Oman, on August 31, 2026, the waterway through which a fifth of the world's hydrocarbons used to transit (REUTERS/Stringer/file)Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy said on Sunday that it seized a U.S. Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle operating in the Strait of Hormuz, which it claimed was carrying out espionage activities, Iranian state media reported."Through a coordinated and complex operation involving intelligence surveillance and electronic warfare, IRGC naval personnel managed to capture an advanced unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) belonging to the terrorist military forces of the United States," the Revolutionary Guard's naval forces said in a statement quoted by state television. They added that the drone "was operating in the Strait of Hormuz for espionage purposes" and that it was now "in the hands of the force's specialists for data recovery." Earlier this month, the Guard had already reported the capture of another U.S. underwater drone in the strait, a key route for oil and gas trade before the war in the Middle East, which began in late February, paralyzed navigation through the area. Iran has maintained a blockade on Hormuz since the outbreak of the conflict, while the United States in turn imposes a counter-blockade on Iranian ports. Several people walk past a billboard about the Strait of Hormuz on a building in Tehran, Iran, on September 16, 2026, as Iran insists on maintaining its conditions to reopen the waterway (Majid Asgaripour/WANA/via REUTERS)The announcement comes at a time of strong tension between the two countries over the future of the waterway. Iran insisted on Sunday that it maintains its conditions for reopening the strait, after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Tehran to restore navigation. "Our conditions are clear, and any move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz depends on those conditions being met. We will not back down," declared Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Iran had presented a proposal on Friday to reopen Hormuz within seven days of its validation, drawn up "in coordination" with the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and entrusted to a six-member team with "decision-making power." Trump, however, rejected the proposal: "The Iranian leaders want to reach a deal to open the strait immediately because they are losing ground spectacularly," he told reporters outside the White House, shortly after posting on Truth Social a map that renamed the waterway the "Strait of Trump." According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump is weighing a resumption of bombings against Iran after the November midterm legislative elections. Washington has not attacked Iranian territory since September 1, when a series of bombings killed five people at a wedding in the southeast of the country, although attacks against ships in the strait continued. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan had warned on Saturday before the UN General Assembly that "the stability of this vital region is directly linked to global energy security," and called for guaranteeing freedom of navigation both in Hormuz and in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where the Houthi rebels consolidated their control after an offensive launched in September.