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The U.S. military destroyed two small Iranian boats Monday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attempted to seize a U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessel (USV) patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials told Axios, in an incident that Iranian state media instead described as a drone strike on "fishing boats" that left fishermen missing.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed the attempted seizure in a statement.
"Iranian small boats recently attempted to take possession of a U.S. unmanned surface vessel, but they were unsuccessful after CENTCOM forcefully responded," Hawkins said.
"The surface drone remains under U.S. operational control," he added.
According to a U.S. official cited by Axios, the IRGC used the boats in an attempt to capture a naval drone the U.S. military uses to patrol the strait.
After U.S. forces identified the attempt, an American drone fired two missiles at the boats, destroying them and killing most of those on board.
The U.S. military did not initially disclose the strike.
Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that a drone attack targeted two fishing boats Monday night near Iran's Larak Island and Bandar Kargan in the Persian Gulf, leaving several fishermen missing.
Ahmad Nafisi, Hormozgan province's deputy governor for political, security and social affairs, said the boats were struck roughly 12 miles from Larak Island and 30 miles from Bandar Kargan.
"A number of fishermen on board are missing, and search and rescue operations have begun," Nafisi said.
He said relief forces and responsible agencies were conducting search and rescue operations in the area, with the fishermen's status under review, and that further details would be announced once official reports were completed.
Nafisi attributed the strike to the U.S. military but did not address the U.S. account that the vessels had attempted to seize a naval drone.
The incident occurred as the U.S. works to protect increased commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where oil flows remain below prewar levels.
A U.S. official told Axios that the U.S. military and Gulf countries have begun conducting daytime tanker transits through the strait, not only at night as had been the practice in recent months.
As fighting with Yemen's Houthis escalates in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia has significantly increased the number of oil tankers it sends through Hormuz, according to a U.S. official, and U.S. forces have expanded the mine-cleared portion of the strait's middle shipping lane.
An average of 40 ships now transit the strait daily under U.S. military guidance and protection, with roughly 14 million barrels of oil exported through the waterway each day, according to a U.S. official.
Several tankers carrying liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas have also transited the strait over the past week.
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