📰 6 sources 6 articles · 27 Sep 2026, 13:47 → 20 days ago

Iran announces seizure of a US unmanned submarine in the Strait of Hormuz; Washington denies

Iran, through the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guard, announced the seizure of an unmanned US submarine operating in the Strait of Hormuz, accused it of espionage, and described the operation as complex, involving coordination between intelligence, surveillance and electronic warfare. The United States denied the claim, affirming effective control over its assets, amid persistent tension between Tehran and Washington in the region.

📍 Where things stand: The Iranian account of the seizure stands while Washington denies it, with no US confirmation and sources differing over the model of the vehicle named.

⏱️ Timeline

27 Sep 2026, 13:47 Iran announced the detention of a US self-guided (uncrewed) submarine in the Strait of Hormuz, without further details on the circumstances or timing of the incident, which falls within the ongoing tension between Tehran and Washington in the region.
27 Sep 2026, 14:25 Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced it had seized a US unmanned submarine in the Strait of Hormuz.
27 Sep 2026, 18:00 The naval force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced it had seized a US autonomous underwater vehicle of the "Remus 600" model operating in the Strait of Hormuz and accused it of espionage, while Iranian military leaders warned of a new US attack, amid US President Donald Trump's rejection of an Iranian proposal to open the strait and end the fighting.
28 Sep 2026, 05:17 The United States denied the Iranian claim, affirming its effective control over its assets and describing the Iranian move as "clearly desperate", while the Iranian operation was described as complex and involving coordination between intelligence, surveillance and electronic warfare, and it was noted as the second US unmanned submarine to be seized.
28 Sep 2026, 11:22 Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that its naval forces took control of a US autonomous robotic submarine of the Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish model in the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as "the second prey". IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said the strait "is not only closed, but is also a place for sniping American submarines". No US confirmation was issued, while the US military had previously denied similar announcements.

Timeline written by AI from the sources below; updated as new reports arrive.

⚠️ Sources disagree

Model of the seized US unmanned submarine

a US autonomous underwater vehicle of the "Remus 600" model according to Euronews.com
a US unmanned submarine of the Remus 600 model according to Vietnam.vn
a US autonomous robotic submarine of the Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish model according to Lebanon Debate

Figures as each outlet reported them at the time. We do not judge which is correct; numbers often change as events develop.

How the sources covered it

Some sources (Al Arabiya, Al Hadath and lbcgroup.tv) focused on the bare Iranian announcement of seizing a US unmanned submarine, while Euronews.com added the model designation, the espionage accusation, Iranian warnings of a US attack and Trump's position; Vietnam.vn was alone in leading with the US denial and its description of the Iranian move as "clearly desperate"; Lebanon Debate gave a different model for the vehicle and quoted the IRGC spokesman describing the strait as "a place for sniping American submarines".

العربية Confined itself to the Iranian announcement of detaining a US self-guided submarine in the Strait of Hormuz, noting the absence of details about the incident's circumstances and timing.
الحدث Presented the incident as reports of the detention of a US self-guided submarine and placed it within the context of ongoing tension between Tehran and Washington in the region.
lbcgroup.tv A short report attributing the announcement to Iran's Revolutionary Guard that it seized a US unmanned submarine in Hormuz, without further details.
Euronews.com Gave fuller details: identifying the "Remus 600" model, the accusation that the vehicle was spying, Iranian military leaders' warnings of a new US attack, and Trump's rejection of an Iranian proposal to open the strait and end the fighting.
Vietnam.vn Led with the US denial affirming effective control over its assets and describing the Iranian move as "clearly desperate", and highlighted that the Iranian operation was described as complex, involving intelligence, surveillance and electronic warfare, and that it was the second submarine of its kind.
Lebanon Debate Stated the vehicle was of the Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish model and called it "the second prey", quoted IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi saying the strait "is not only closed, but is also a place for sniping American submarines", and noted no US confirmation while the US military had previously denied similar announcements.