Iran says IRGC attacked US naval drone trying to enter Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday, September 6, that its naval forces attacked a US military unmanned surface vessel (USV) attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz as a series of tit-for-tat attacks continue.

“The heroic IRGC Navy has attacked a US military unmanned surface vessel (USV) that was attempting to enter the protected area of the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.

The Guards said any “enemy move” was being closely

monitored and would be decisively confronted.

“The aggressor United States should know that it has no choice but to leave the region and stop its mischief,” the IRGC said.

The latest warning came after the IRGC's condemned US strikes on three Iranian oil tankers and despite a stern warning from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“It’s simple: if Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers,” Hegseth posted the previous day.

In retaliation for the US military's assault on three Iranian oil tankers, the IRGC Navy launched three missiles from Sirik toward the Strait of Hormuz.
IRNA reported that three oil tankers and three US vessels were struck. pic.twitter.com/EFx05vbcsa

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) September 5, 2026

It said the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iran's the management of Iran and warned that any hostile movement would face a firm response. The US, on the other hand, has been emphasising that its own blockade is in place.

Six months on since the West Asia war broke out on February 28, tension has been escalating around the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route on which both Iran and the US are racing to lay claims.

“Do not be deceived by the US” and refrain from “any suspicious move aimed at passing through unauthorised waterways”, the IRGC Navy said in a statement on Saturday, warning that “any suspicious move will be targeted”.

The IRGC Navy said the US military had attacked three Iranian oil tankers in a “barbaric act born of desperation”, causing damage to the vessels.

“Heroic and awakened nation of beloved Iran; This morning, the terrorist and aggressor US military—in a barbaric act born of desperation—attacked three oil tankers belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran, causing damage,” the statement said.

US Central Command said on Saturday that its forces had struck three Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles towards two US Navy warships.

CENTCOM said the vessels were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. No American personnel were harmed.