The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has claimed to have captured an unmanned US military submarine at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and released photos of it, while the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has admitted to a technical malfunction in the submarine.
According to the ‘Fars News Agency’, which is considered close to the Revolutionary Guards, and the Guards’ official website ‘Sepah News’, the Navy has captured the US military’s most advanced and intelligent unmanned submarine in the Strait of Hormuz.
The news agency has also published photos of the submarine being pulled out of the sea. Iranian officials maintain that the fact that this unmanned submarine is regularly operational and used during operations proves that it is an important US naval weapon.
On the other hand, US Central Command spokesman First Captain Tim Hawkins confirmed to the BBC that the US Navy’s autonomous submarine ‘Zehpad’ had experienced a technical malfunction while patrolling in territorial waters 24 hours ago.
However, the spokesman rejected the Iranian claims, saying that “it was an older model that was not being used to collect sensitive or classified information and did not have any classified radars or sensors installed.” He added that despite the incident, US naval operations in the region were continuing as usual.
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