What happened

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it attacked a U.S. military unmanned surface vessel that was attempting to enter what it called a protected area of the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera carried the statement at 02:30 GMT on 6 September, including an IRGC warning that the waterway was under Iranian control; that is the report time, not an established attack time. Iran did not identify the vessel, weapon, precise position or damage, and did not publish independently verifiable evidence with the announcement. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins subsequently denied that any U.S. unmanned vessel had been struck, calling the Iranian account a “total lie.” The denial does not establish whether Iran fired at, attempted to engage or merely claimed an attack on a U.S. vessel, but it directly contradicts the claimed hit. This is therefore retained as one unconfirmed Iranian claim, not a verified vessel impact. The marker is an approximate central-Strait reference and must not be interpreted as the vessel's position.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.