Iran-US war latest: US says submarine drone ‘malfunctioned’ after Tehran celebrates capture of unmanned vessel
Close US military destroys five Iranian oil tankers after attacks on Navy warship On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice 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. Recommended US targets multiple Iranian oil tankers in latest retaliatory strike Iran says improved ballistic missile shows it will take preemptive action against threats Iran war will continue for another six months, former US defence secretary says Shares edge down as Iran tensions push oil higher Key Points US destroys five Iranian oil tankers Iran says it captured US submarine near Strait of Hormuz Airstrike on Iran wedding was likely US bomb missing its target: report Iran threatens to take pre-emptive strike with upgraded ballistic missiles Iran War is costing Americans $100B in extra energy costs Russia offers to mediate in Middle East crisis US military says it destroyed five Iranian oil carriers after attempted missile attacks US Central Command said on Tuesday that its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on September 8 after attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship over the past two days. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 14:20 Pictured: People walk past a mural depicting an Iranian drone on a street in Tehran ( Reuters ) Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 14:00 Israel says it strikes southern Lebanon after Hezbollah drone launch The Israeli military said on Friday it struck southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched a drone attack towards Israeli soldiers. Three people were killed and 23 were injured in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry. The wounded included medics, in addition to women and children, the ministry said. The Israeli military also struck targets across south Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since March 2, Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 13:40 Iran's Guards say they attacked US base in Jordan Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian state media on Wednesday that they had attacked what they described as a US base in Jordan's Al Azraq with ballistic missiles, in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian oil tankers. There was no immediate confirmation from Jordan. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 13:30 Kremlin says cheaper Russian gas could ease Europe's pain amid rising prices The Kremlin said on Wednesday that European countries were paying the price for shunning Russian gas as energy costs surge and could be buying cheaper supplies from Moscow instead. European natural gas prices have soared amid the war in Iran, reaching their highest level last week since late 2022, when the start of the Ukraine conflict prompted Europe to slash imports of Russian pipeline gas. Benchmark European gas prices climbed to €75 per megawatt hour last week, more than double their level a year ago. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europe was hurting itself by buying expensive gas on the spot market instead of opting for cheaper Russian options. "Europeans should of course be looking for cheaper sources of energy. Russian gas, whether piped gas or liquefied natural gas, could long ago have become a cheaper option for them, although LNG is always sold at spot market prices," he told reporters on a daily conference call. Europe's gas stores are around 67% full, compared with nearly 80% a year ago, the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed. HSBC forecasts European inventories will reach 73% by November 1, the lowest level at that date since data collection began in 2009. Russia's pipeline gas exports to Europe fell 44% last year to 18 billion cubic metres, the lowest since the mid-1970s after the closure of the Ukrainian transit route, according to Reuters calculations. Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe peaked at around 180 bcm per year in 2018 and 2019. Explosions on the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines in 2022 also curtailed Russian gas exports to Europe. One leg of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea remains undamaged. "Based on common sense, of course, they (Europeans) could long ago have made use of Nord Stream. One of its strings remains intact and operational, and it could be brought back into service at very short notice," Peskov said. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 13:20 Recap watch: 'Small potatoes': Trump says Iran conflict isn't a 'big thing' for US 'Small potatoes': Trump says Iran conflict isn't a 'big thing' for US Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 13:00 Ships passing through restricted areas will face sanctions, IRGC warns An IRGC spokesperson has warned that any ship passing through the restricted area of the Strait of Hormuz will face sanctions if there is no coordination with Iran. They added the maritime restricted area extended from Chabahar into parts of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 12:40 Panama-flagged tanker struck by drone in Iraqi waters, port officials say A Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters on Wednesday, two port officials said. Iraqi rescue boats extinguished a fire aboard the tanker, New Andros, and there were no reports of casualties, port officials told Reuters. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 12:20 Sunni Kurdish cleric killed in northwest Iran, Guards blame 'separatists' Sunni Kurdish cleric Mamosta Mohammad Nezhati was killed in northwestern Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement reported on Wednesday by the semi-official Mehr news agency. The statement accused what it called “Zionist-American Kurdish separatist groups” of carrying out the attack. The Guards' West Azerbaijan provincial command said the killing of the local cleric was an attempt to create divisions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and undermine security in the province. In a Telegram post, the semi-official Fars news agency described Nezhati as a member of Basij, a paramilitary force linked to the Guards. It quoted the Guards' statement as saying he had a long history of cooperation with Basij organisations for professors, seminarians and clerics. His killing follows that of Molavi Mohammad Anvar Rigi, a Sunni Baluch Friday prayer leader in the southeastern border town of Mirjaveh, who was killed by unidentified gunmen in July. In border provinces with large ethnic minority populations, such as Sistan-Baluchistan and the Kurdish-populated western provinces, Iran has long faced militancy targeting security forces and figures associated with the state. Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 12:00 Several merchant vessels hit by disabling fire in Gulf and Gulf of Oman Several merchant vessels in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman were hit by disabling fire during military activity in the region overnight, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Wednesday. The British navy-affiliated UKMTO said it was unable to confirm any casualties or environmental impact. Separately, UKMTO reported another incident on Wednesday, 24 nautical miles from Port Rashid, in the United Arab Emirates. It said a vessel was sighted listing while at anchor, possibly indicating it had taken on water following an attack by an unknown projectile. On Tuesday, US Central Command forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers following attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship over the previous two days. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they had attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf in response to the US attack on the Iranian tankers. The Guards said the 10 vessels had attempted to cross an area of the Strait of Hormuz that they described as "prohibited and unsafe". Bryony Gooch 9 September 2026 11:40 Newer 1 / 10 Older