Iran-US war latest: US says submarine drone ‘malfunctioned’ after Tehran celebrates capture of unmanned vessel Iranian rhetoric comes as US sanctions punish its ailing economy The US says a submarine drone “malfunctioned” before it fell into Iranian hands, adding that it was an older model and not being used for sensitive operations.

Iran earlier celebrated its capture of an American unmanned underwater vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, with Iranian state media publishing footage of the drone. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have “trapped one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist American army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz”.

It comes as the US military destroyed five Iranian oil tankers – four in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island – in retaliation for repeated missile strikes on a Navy warship. “The US warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters.

No American personnel were harmed”, the US military said. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked several cities in Saudi Arabia, wounding at least 73 people and knocking operations at energy facilities offline, the Saudi-led coalition said on Tuesday in a further sign of the conflict spreading as diplomacy stalls.

The coalition vowed a firm response to the attacks. Recap: IRGC 'captured' US submarine Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday it had captured a US uncrewed submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, offering a rare glimpse into how underwater drones are being used in military operations.

Iranian state media said the vessel was a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater vehicle built by California defense firm Anduril. The 19-foot (5.8-metre) submersible can carry out missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering and the inspection of underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines, the company has said.

"We trapped one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist American army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. This submersible is equipped with the latest technologies," the Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.

Japan urges Iran to exercise ‘maximum restraint’ in its vessel attacks Japan’s foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi has urged Iran to exercise “maximum restraint” over its continued attacks on vessels during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday.

Motegi also expressed “deep concern” over renewed exchanges of attacks between the US and Iran and called on Tehran to show “maximum flexibility” to avoid prolonging the standoff with Washington, Mainichi reported. He also reportedly stressed the importance of restoring free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, without vessels incurring additional costs.

US issues new Iran-related sanctions targeting airlines The US has imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions on individuals and more than 30 entities, including several airlines. A notice posted on the treasury department’s website lists a number of commercial and private airlines targeted by the sanctions, including Iran’s Ava Airlines, Mehr Airways and Taban Air.

Several foreign cargo service providers have also been sanctioned. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system,” US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said.

Anduril confirms loss of US submarine drone vessel Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vessels after a US submarine drone malfunctioned, but downplayed the significance of the incident. "Dive-LD is an attritable autonomous system, meaning it is designed from the outset to operate in dangerous environments where loss of the vehicle is an expected possibility," a company spokesperson said.

The US military is investing heavily in unmanned naval systems, including underwater and surface vessels, as it seeks cheaper ways to monitor vast areas of ocean, gather intelligence and track adversary ships and submarines without putting sailors at risk.

According to Anduril's website, Dive-LD can operate for up to 10 days without returning to base and is designed to dive to depths of as much as 6,000 metres (19,700 feet). Dive-LD units cost about $2.5 million each, U.S. military news site DefenseScoop reported in 2024.

Iran says it captured US submarine near Strait of Hormuz Iran says it has captured a US Dive-LD unmanned submarine near the Strait of Hormuz. “We trapped one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist American army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

This submersible is equipped with the latest technologies,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said. The Pentagon said the drone had “malfunctioned more than a day ago”. “It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment,” the spokesperson said.

“Dive-LD is an attritable autonomous system, meaning it is designed from the outset to operate in dangerous environments where loss of the vehicle is an expected possibility,” the California defence firm Anduril that makes Dive-LD said. Iran signalling tougher response as US pressure mounts - report Iran is signalling a tougher military response to the US as economic pressure mounts, analysts tell The New York Times.

“How do you regain the momentum? You escalate,” Farzan Sabet, an Iran analyst at the Geneva Graduate Institute, a research group told the outlet. “It’s highly damaging, but at the same time, they hope it raises global oil prices or fully re-closes the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Mohammad Ali Shabani, an Iran analyst and editor of the regional news website Amwaj.media told the outlet: “All signs point to a make or break moment. I’m not sure the Iranians are going to wait until after the elections to be attacked if diplomacy fails.

” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it attacked 2 US vessels and 8 oil tankers Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Wednesday that it had attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf in response to what they described as a US attack on five Iranian tankers, Iranian state media reported.

The Guard said they had also attacked 10 ships attempting to cross what they described as a “prohibited and unsafe” area of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump reiterates Iran has ‘no chance’ of getting a nuclear weapon Donald Trump has reiterated that Iran has “no chance of getting” a nuclear weapon.

Speaking at an event in Washington, he said: “I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon.” “They were very close to getting it. And now they have no chance of getting it. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

” Iran says that it’s not pursuing nuclear weapons, and its program is entirely peaceful. US Centcom releases footage of tanker sinking in Gulf of Oman US Central Command has released footage showing an Iranian tanker sinking in the Gulf of Oman after it was “destroyed by Centcom forces” on Tuesday.

Centcom said the strike was carried out “in response to attempted attacks” on a US navy warship by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The British overseas territories of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus have generated a buzz online in recent days, after a social media post by a French politician claimed that the UK was "occupying" Cyprus. The X post by French MEP Manon Aubry, of the far-left France Unbowed party, was originally published in February but resurfaced after being reposted and quoted by social media users last week.

Aubry's post contains a video of herself in Akrotiri — known officially as the Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri — in which she says its presence in Cyprus, as well as that of Dhekelia, shows that part of the country is still "occupied by the British Army".

She adds that the bases are being used to provide intelligence about the Gaza Strip to Israel and that, as NATO bases, they are ultimately under the command of US President Donald Trump. "Stop colonialism!" Aubry says in the text of her X post. In response, social media users attached a community note to the post, explaining that Akrotiri and Dhekelia are covered by the 1960 treaty that Cyprus signed to establish its independence from the UK.

They added that this is unlike the north of the country, which the vast majority of the international community considers to be under Turkish military occupation in an issue known as "the Cyprus problem". Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, ultimately dividing the island with Turkish forces controlling the north of the island, about 36% of its territory, to this day.

Self-proclaimed "Northern Cyprus" is recognised only by Turkey. The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking team, spoke to experts to break down some of the nuance surrounding the British bases in Cyprus, whether they bear any similarities to the Turkish occupation, and whether Aubry's claims hold any weight.

Simply put, the question about the status of the bases is a complex one, according to scholars. They said that, legally speaking, the UK is not "occupying" Cyprus, because the base areas are recognised under international law, including by Cyprus itself.

"We can look at the definition of occupation, which includes the presence of a military force without a territory's consent," said Peter Clegg, professor of politics and international relations with a specialisation in British Overseas Territories, at the University of the West of England.

"In this case, there is consent," he said. "There is agreement from the Cypriot government that the bases can exist." Clegg pointed to the vast aspects of civilian daily life that are overseen in the base areas by the Cypriot government, such as education and social welfare, and the fact that the government has not challenged the legality of the independence treaty since it was drawn up.

Under the terms of the agreement, the UK promises "not to develop the Sovereign Base Areas for other than military purposes" and "not to set up and administer 'colonies'" there. It also says that Cypriots have full access to the area surrounding the bases, that their rights will be fully protected, and that laws applicable to the Cypriot population who live there "will be as far as possible the same as the laws of the Republic [of Cyprus]".

The importance of consent was also noted by Costas M Constantinou, professor of international relations at the University of Cyprus, although he highlighted that the situation is not so clear-cut. "I wouldn't call it occupation, but rather an ingenious development of colonialism," he told The Cube.

"The main difference from occupation is that Cypriots formally agreed to it when they signed the Treaty of Establishment in 1960, which also established the bases." "But they were basically coerced, as decolonisation of the island was made conditional on accepting the 'sovereign bases'," he added.

"This raises questions about the legality of the bases today." Neophytos Loizides, professor of international conflict analysis at the University of Warwick, said that the Cypriot people were not consulted when Akrotiri and Dhekelia were left behind as part of the independence deal and that the UK, as the colonial power, used its leverage to hold on to the territories.

"The agreement was signed under duress," he said. "Cypriot leaders did not have the same power as the UK, so the UK could impose its will." Responding to Manon Aubry's use of language directly, he said that it's more accurate to call the bases a "colonial remnant" rather than an "occupation", which is an "emotive use of words".

"This is different to the occupation happening in the north of Cyprus," he said. "A Cypriot person is unlikely to say the British are occupiers, but they wouldn't necessarily say they're there legitimately either." For Constantinou, the key word is "ambivalence".

"Greek Cypriots and certainly the Cypriot government don't view the bases as something that is equivalent to the Turkish occupation in the north," he said. "Those Cypriots who live inside the base areas and may still consider it a colonial remnant don't necessarily or always see it negatively, as many economically benefit from working in the bases and some also feel that the British army provides security vis-a-vis the Turkish army, in areas such as the Achna Forest village in the Dhekelia base.

" As for Aubry's claims that the UK was using the bases in Cyprus to assist Israel, Clegg said they were incorrect. "There have been some surveillance flights in and around Gaza, but the UK has made clear, and it's likely true, that the flights were unarmed and were used to help identify the location of the hostages following the 7 October attacks," he said.

He added that there was limited or no information sharing with Israel or the US, but there were humanitarian aid flights from the bases to Gaza. "There's a discussion to be had about how the bases are being used, but I don't think everything being thrown at them is entirely true and fair," he told The Cube.

"It's likely somewhere in between." The UK government insists that the surveillance flights over Gaza were conducted solely for hostage location, that it maintained strict control over the information it gathered and that only data directly related to the whereabouts of any hostages was given to Israel.

However, certain investigative outlets have cast doubt on whether this intelligence sharing extended into broader Israeli military operations, accusing the government of a lack of transparency for refusing to reveal exactly what information was shared and potential complicity in Israel's war.

Akrotiri and Dhekelia made headlines earlier this year when a drone hit the former in March during the wider war between Iran and both Israel and the US. More drones launched in the following days were intercepted. The strikes reignited the debate about the bases' future in Cyprus, which, unlike the UK, is not a NATO member.

Protesters argued that ordinary Cypriots would pay the price if anything bad happened to them, while President Nikos Christodoulides demanded talks with London about the future of the "colonial" military bases. Rather than directly challenging British sovereignty, however, Nicosia has shifted towards a phased, technical approach, proposing joint committees on how both sides can work together and launching high-level diplomatic dialogue.

"From the Cypriot perspective, the return of the territory would be welcome, but they'd also like to see a better functional relationship," Loizides said. "The British bases cannot perpetually put at risk the Cypriot population on the island." "In the future, it may be that the British maintain the bases but under a protection framework, so that Cyprus benefits from it, and the colonial status changes into a more modern security framework," he added, noting that the relationship between both sides has "improved dramatically" in recent decades.

Any such change is unlikely to happen anytime soon, though, according to Clegg, who described the recent comments from Cyprus as "genuine concern, but more rhetorical than trying to bring about real change." The UK briefly considered whether it was beneficial to keep the bases amid the Turkish invasion in the 70s, but pressure from the US pushed London to keep the status quo.

"The bases are British, there's close cooperation with Cyprus, but there's a US interest too; there's a triangular relationship," Clegg said. "This has been at the heart of how they've been administered." A change in status could come as part of a wider peace settlement regarding the Cyprus problem, according to Loizides, explaining that the British bases could factor into the equation as part of a security framework in the region.

"If the Cyprus problem were fixed, there'd be an opportunity to further develop the European defence mechanisms in the Middle East and east Mediterranean," Loizides said. "The entire region could benefit from the British bases; they could provide security to Cyprus and the EU, so there's a basis for a good agreement for the Brits here too.

" The future of the bases came under legal scrutiny after the International Court of Justice handed down an advisory opinion in 2019, in which it said that the UK's detachment of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius during decolonisation in the 1960s violated the right to self-determination and territorial integrity.

Some Cypriot officials and legal experts say that this is similar to how the UK carved out Akrotiri and Dhekelia during Cyprus' transition to independence, although other analysts say the cases are distinct, because while the indigenous population of Chagos was expelled, the British bases in Cyprus were baked into the 1960 treaty, with formal recognition from the new republic.

London has since agreed to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, but the necessary legislation has stalled following pushback from Trump. Nevertheless, in the Cypriot case, the UK has consistently maintained its commitment to and sovereignty over Akrotiri and Dhekelia under the 1960 agreement.

Al Carns, former armed forces minister, told The Telegraph in April that their legal status is "non-negotiable", dismissing any suggestion of transferring control of them. The government of Cyprus did not respond to a request for comment as of the time of publication.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that while Germany is not formally at war with Russia, it faces a hybrid threat involving drone overflights, sabotage, and disinformation, following the government's explicit attribution of an attempted attack on Leipzig/Halle airport to Moscow.

In response, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt raised the national threat level to "high," acknowledging that while other states like China and Iran also employ hybrid tactics, identifying the specific attribution of such incidents remains difficult.

According to a Monday Wall Street Journal report citing data from maritime platform Kpler, Iranian oil exports have declined since a US naval blockade was reinstated in mid-July, with shipments falling from an estimated 90 million barrels to approximately 29 million barrels.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that no Iranian crude cargoes have transited the Strait of Hormuz to China since the blockade began, though he characterized the situation with a "Jaws" graphic alongside data on falling exports and currency values.