Washington
30 August 2022

The commander of CENTCOM criticised “Iran’s continued destabilising, illegal and unprofessional activity in the Middle East” after an IRGC ship attempted to seize a U.S. unmanned surface vessel in international waters. According to the U.S., “actions taken by U.S. naval forces in response resulted in the IRGCN vessel disconnecting the towing line to the USV and departing the area approximately four hours later”. The IRGC Navy rejected the U.S. version of events as “ridiclous”, suggesting that the USV’s “navigation communications were cut off”, therefore, Iranian forces towed it “with the aim of securing the shipping route and preventing a possible accident”.

Subscribe to Crisis Group’s Email Updates

Receive the best source of conflict analysis right in your inbox.