US says malfunctioning underwater drone carried no sensitive data as Iran claims capture in Strait of Hormuz

Washington, September 9 - The United States military reported today that one of its underwater drones experienced a "malfunction" after Iran claimed its forces had captured an American unmanned submarine in the critical Strait of Hormuz. According to US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins, "An underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago.

It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations." Hawkins did not clarify whether the device was seized by Iran. The spokesperson added, "The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards had previously claimed they had seized a US drone at the "entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in a complex intelligence and operational action," describing it as "one of the most modern, unmanned, and smart submarines" operated by US forces. The Islamic Republic has maintained a blockade of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, which typically transports about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports, since the start of the war in late February. Meanwhile, the United States has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.