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Conflict & Security105 outlets ran this3 min read

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz

Tehran claims capture of advanced unmanned underwater vehicle amid ongoing Middle East war.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, Sept. 6. Reuters-Yonhap

What this story says

  • Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Tuesday the seizure of a U.S. unmanned submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • The Guards described the captured drone as one of the most modern and technologically advanced unmanned submarines.
  • Iranian media reported the drone's capabilities include subsurface reconnaissance, surveillance, and mapping.
  • The seizure occurs while Iran maintains a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. has imposed a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Who covered it

Left 18%(7)Centre 22%(9)Right 60%(24)

Percentages are shares of the 40 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 65 of the 105 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

48/100

105 sources · methodology

Thin on the left so far

Only 7 of the 40 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Tuesday that they had seized an American unmanned submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards stated that the drone is one of the most modern, unmanned, and smart submarines, equipped with the latest technology. Iranian media reported that the drone's capabilities include subsurface reconnaissance, surveillance, seabed mapping, mine detection, and inspection of submarine cables and pipelines.

The seizure took place amid the ongoing Middle East war, which began in late February. Iran has maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy exports. In response, the U.S. has imposed its own counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has also stated its intention to charge fees from transiting vessels to fund services such as environmental protection, a plan that the U.S. opposes.

Disagreement on drone model

While Iran's Revolutionary Guards described the seized drone as a highly advanced U.S. submarine, some reports identified it by a specific model. Topwar.ru reported the captured drone as an American deep-sea drone, Dive LD, developed by Anduril. Naval News also stated that an underwater drone shown by Iran closely matches the American-designed Anduril Dive-LD model. However, other reports, including those from The Korea Times and Channel News Asia, did not specify a model name.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mention Iran's stated plan to charge fees from transiting vessels to fund services including environmental protection, a detail present in the full reports from The Korea Times and Channel News Asia. The right-rated reports also do not mention the U.S. imposing its own counter-blockade of Iranian ports, a fact included in the left and centre-rated reports.

Tags:#Iran#US#StraitOfHormuz#Military#Drone#MiddleEastWar

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 8 Sept 2026, 19:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • Six left-rated reports led on the announcement by Iran's Revolutionary Guards of the seizure of a U.S. unmanned submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. These reports carried details about the drone's advanced technology and capabilities, including subsurface reconnaissance and surveillance. They also noted the ongoing Middle East war and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the U.S. counter-blockade. The Korea Times and Channel News Asia, which provided full reports, included statements from the Guards describing the drone as one of the most modern and smart submarines of the "U.S. terrorist army" and equipped with the latest technology. These reports also mentioned Iran's plan to charge fees from transiting vessels.

Centre

9 rated outlets

  • Eight centre-rated reports focused on Iran's claim of seizing a U.S. submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. These reports highlighted the advanced nature of the drone, with many quoting the Revolutionary Guards' description of it as one of the most modern and smart submarines. Several centre-rated outlets, including Naval News, identified the drone as potentially matching the American Anduril Dive-LD model. The context of the ongoing Middle East war and the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz were also mentioned. Channel News Asia and TF1 INFO reported that the drone was described as one of the most modern aircraft of the U.S. Army and equipped with the latest technologies for underwater operations.

Right

24 rated outlets

  • Seven right-rated reports covered Iran's claim of capturing a U.S. submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. These reports often described the drone as "smart" or "state-of-the-art." Some, like topwar.ru, identified the drone as an American deep-sea drone, Dive LD, developed by Anduril, and noted its delivery to a U.S. drone unit in 2025. ABP News reported that Iran's IRGC claimed it destroyed a U.S. MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz in addition to seizing the submarine. The context of the ongoing Middle East war and Iran's blockade was also present in these reports. Svenska Dagbladet mentioned the drone was recently delivered to the U.S. military.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz?
Of the 40 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 18% are rated left, 22% are rated centre, 60% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 105. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 40 rated outlets on this story, 18% are rated left, 22% are rated centre, 60% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz biased?
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz is one event reported by 105 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Iran's Revolutionary Guards Seize US Submarine Drone in Strait of Hormuz?
105 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What did Iran's Revolutionary Guards announce?
Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced on Tuesday that they seized an American unmanned submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. They described it as one of the most modern and technologically advanced unmanned submarines.
What are the reported capabilities of the seized drone?
Iranian media reported that the captured drone's capabilities include subsurface reconnaissance, surveillance, seabed mapping, mine detection, and inspection of submarine cables and pipelines. It is described as being equipped with the latest technology.
What is the context of this seizure?
The seizure occurred during the ongoing Middle East war. Iran has maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. has imposed a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Iran also plans to charge fees for transiting vessels.
Do all reports agree on the specific model of the drone?
No, there is a divergence. While some reports, such as those from Topwar.ru and Naval News, suggest the drone is an American Anduril Dive-LD model, other reports, including full reports from The Korea Times and Channel News Asia, do not specify a model name.

Read it at the source

105 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

9
Show 1 more

Right

24
Show 16 more

Not rated

65
Show 57 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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