US military forces, as part of Operation Epic Fury, struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it on fire, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on X/Twitter on Thursday.
The carrier was “roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier,” according to CENTCOM.
“US forces aren’t holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy,” CENTCOM wrote.
CENTCOM deploys B-2s, B-52s, and F/A-18s during strikes on Iran.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed that B-2 Stealth Bombers were again deployed to drop 2,000lb. bombs on Iran as part of the operation during a press conference at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday.
Earlier on Thursday, CENTCOM announced that B-52 Stratofortresses “struck Iranian ballistic missile and command and control posts.”
CENTCOM also stated that US Navy F/A-18s are being “kept in the fight” by around-the-clock operations.
A wave of US and Israeli strikes has destroyed or damaged at least 20 Iranian naval vessels since Saturday, new satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show, with missile bases and nuclear sites also hit by attacks.
Images of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from multiple ships on Monday and Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US was “annihilating” the Iranian navy, listing the force’s destruction as one of America’s three main goals. His Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine had fired on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday.
Among the vessels destroyed was the IRINS Makran, Iran’s largest naval vessel, which had served as a drone carrier. Satellite images showed black smoke pouring from the ship which had been docked at Bandar Abbas base.
Maritime security firm Vanguard said that the IRIS Bayandor, IRIS Naghdi, and the IRIS Jamaran were also among the ships destroyed in the strikes. The firm also claimed that the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a state-of-the-art drone carrier ship launched by Iran last year, had been sunk – although BBC Verify cannot independently confirm this.
Analysts at the intelligence firm MAIAR said at least five ships at Bandar Abbas were “hit or sunk”. Satellite images of the southern end of the port show smoke rising from Makran, while two other vessels appear to be damaged, one visibly ablaze.
The head of US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, claimed that 20 Iranian vessels, including its “most operational” submarine, have been destroyed.
“For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping,” Adm Brad Cooper said in a video posted to X. “Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman, and we will not stop.”
Sri Lankan officials said on Wednesday that one Iranian ship was sinking near its waters and that it launched a rescue operation, with 140 people currently missing. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth later said that a US submarine struck an Iranian ship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean.
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