'Spoils of war': Iran says US submarine seized in Hormuz was 'captured, not confiscated'

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday said the American submarine seized by Iran was “captured as spoils of war”, adding that such spoils are legitimate."It was not confiscated; it was captured as spoils of war, and such spoils are legitimate," Baghaei said, as reported by Iran’s IRNA News Agency.On Saudi Arabia’s request to postpone the regional summit, Baghaei said attributing the move to developments in Yemen was a deviation from the main roots of the crisis.Baghaei added that Iran has consistently supported the roadmap agreed upon by the Yemeni parties and said the continuation of conflict among Islamic countries served the "Zionist regime's goals for perpetuating insecurity"."Iran has always supported the roadmap agreed upon by the Yemeni parties and considers the continuation of conflict between Islamic countries to be in line with the Zionist regime's goals for perpetuating insecurity," he said.Earlier last week, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it had captured a US unmanned underwater vehicle near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as one of the most advanced systems operated by the US military.In a statement published by Sepah media, the IRGC described the unmanned submarine as the "most modern, smart" unmanned submarine device. Iranian state media identified the vehicle as the Dive-LD, an autonomous underwater vehicle manufactured by California-based defence technology company Anduril Industries.The IRGC Navy said it had intercepted the submarine at the entrance to the strategically important strait and described it as a “prize” now in Iranian possession.This comes as the conflict in West Asia shows signs of renewed escalation, with fighting intensifying in Yemen as Houthi rebels advance towards Saudi-backed government-held areas, including the strategic oil- and gas-rich province of Marib and the city of Taiz, putting growing pressure on Saudi Arabia to respond.The Houthi advance towards government strongholds in Marib and Taiz has raised concerns over a renewed offensive. Marib has remained one of Yemen's most strategically important government-held areas since the conflict escalated in 2015, hosting major army bases, oil and gas fields, a key power station and more than two million displaced people, as reported by Al Jazeera.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.