The United States has stepped up its military campaign against Iran’s naval assets, bombing a major Iranian drone carrier as part of ongoing operations aimed at weakening the Islamic Republic’s maritime capabilities.
Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Adm. Brad Cooper, confirmed on Thursday that American forces carried out the strike during the latest wave of attacks targeting Iran’s navy.
Cooper identified the vessel as the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, noting that the ship is roughly comparable in size to a World War II-era aircraft carrier.
“As we speak now, the aircraft carrier is on fire,” he said during a press briefing.
The strike forms part of a wider military campaign that began after the conflict escalated on Saturday. At the onset of the war, CENTCOM had confirmed that US forces launched airstrikes on the Iranian drone carrier as part of a broader assault on key naval assets.
Providing an update on the scale of the operation, Cooper said US strikes have significantly degraded Iran’s naval capability.
He revealed that more than 30 Iranian warships have so far been sunk or destroyed since the offensive began.
Beyond naval targets, the United States has also expanded its bombardment deep inside Iranian territory. Cooper said American bombers had hit nearly 200 targets across the country, including sites in the capital, Tehran, within the last hour.
The CENTCOM commander also claimed that the sustained strikes have significantly reduced Iran’s ability to carry out counter-attacks.
“Iran’s attacks have slowed down, with ballistic missile attacks decreasing by 90 percent, while drone strikes have gone down by 83 percent since the conflict broke out,” Cooper said.