Iran says it hit US unmanned vessel in Hormuz, US calls claim a lie

Cairo,UPDATED: Sep 6, 2026 20:18 IST

Iran said on Sunday that it struck an unmanned US vessel that was trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the US military rejected as a "total lie". The reported attack came a day after the US military said its forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to US Navy warships being targeted with ballistic missiles.

The exchange marked a fresh escalation in the conflict, which began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Although a fragile ceasefire was announced in June, fighting has continued on and off as both sides have tried to inflict military and economic costs after negotiations collapsed.

The United States and Iran resumed attacks last week after about a month of relative calm, with the Strait of Hormuz and areas along Iran's southern coast again coming under attack. Earlier in the week, at least five people were killed in a US bombardment that brought renewed focus to an area where a school had been hit in the opening strikes of the war.

The Trump administration appears to have adopted a two-pronged approach to the conflict, responding militarily to attacks on the strait while also targeting foreign financial institutions that handle Iran's money. Tehran's hard-line new senior leaders, however, have signalled that they are prepared to dig in after decades of sanctions. Iran has over the years found ways to work around sanctions, and now a US blockade of its ports, to get its oil to buyers and ease growing economic pressure. That effort relies in part on a shadow fleet that transports its oil.

Iran's latest leverage centres on the Strait of Hormuz, which is crucial for global oil and natural gas shipments and was seen as an international waterway before the war began. On Sunday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that, on average, 9 million barrels of oil a day are moving through the strait, which he said should help ease pressure on energy prices.

Wright told CNN that with oil also flowing through pipelines in the region, "we're probably two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows". But those supplies depend on the presence of the US Navy to escort tankers and provide some protection against possible Iranian attack. Wright said he expected other countries would eventually support the Navy's efforts.

Meanwhile, Iran's nuclear programme, the issue that helped trigger the war, was supposed to be addressed in negotiations that fell apart soon after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June. Diplomats say the US, Britain, France and Germany now want to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for failing to comply with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. Taken together, the latest military exchanges, pressure on oil movements and the collapse of diplomacy underline how the conflict remains active despite the June ceasefire.

With PTI Inputs

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