Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday that its navy had intercepted and captured an American autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz. The Guard described a "coordinated and complex operation" using intelligence oversight and electronic warfare, according to a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.

The IRGC first identified the craft as a Remus 600 drone allegedly conducting espionage. IRGC spokesman Second Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi later relabeled the "second catch" as a Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish, an autonomous vehicle with sonar and precision navigation, in a post on X. The Guard said the drone, worth several million dollars, is now with its specialists for data recovery.

It reiterated that the strait remains closed to unauthorized passage and warned of firm responses to dangerous movements in the waterway. The claim follows a Sept 8 IRGC statement that it had seized a Dive-LD underwater vehicle made by Anduril Industries at the strait's entrance.

There is no independent verification of the Sept 27 claim. US officials previously disputed the Sept 8 seizure, saying that craft had malfunctioned and carried no classified sensors. The allegation deepens uncertainty around the strait after a year of US-Iran confrontations.