The US Navy early Friday said it has sunk more than thirty Iranian ships thus far, including an Iranian drone carrier at sea that it struck late Thursday in its unrelenting campaign against the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships.
US Admiral Brad Cooper, the chief of Central Command and commander of US forces in the Middle East, described the Iranian carrier stuck at sea as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.”
“And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper told reporters.
Under cover of darkness Friday morning, B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000 pound “penetrator” bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers inside Iran, Cooper said.
“We’ve also struck Iran’s equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said.
The US military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier.
The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter-long (yard) runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2005 inauguration.
The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack, but Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US Navy of committing “an atrocity at sea” for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 crew members.
The Iranian ship was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian Navy that the US also joined. Sri Lankan authorities said 32 crew members were rescued.
Speaking alongside Cooper in Washington, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that strikes on Iran are “about to surge dramatically.”
“It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” Hegseth said. “And it’s more bomber; it pulses more frequently.”
Israel warns of broad-scale wave of strikes
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said Friday morning it had begun “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital. Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
According to the Israeli military, strikes have already destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers.
The war has escalated to affect countries across the Middle East and beyond. Early Friday, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host US forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
In Lebanon, where the war has rekindled fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late Thursday into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas. Motorists jammed roads trying to flee or seek shelter.
The US and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.
In addition to Israel, Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel.
According to officials in Iran, Lebanon, and Israel, the conflict has claimed at least 1,230 lives in Iran, over 120 in Lebanon, and over a dozen in Israel. The United States has lost six soldiers.