The United States military has targeted an Iranian ship, characterised as a "drone carrier", which is reportedly "is now on fire" following a maritime engagement.
The strike was confirmed by US Central Command (CENTCOM) through a statement on X, occurring as the combined US-Israeli military offensive against Iran reaches its seventh day. In its communication, CENTCOM asserted that "US forces aren't holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy."
The command further detailed the scale of the vessel, describing the targeted drone carrier as "roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier." While the exact location of the naval engagement was not specified in the official post, the military command released footage of the operation. The video provided by CENTCOM depicted the alleged Iranian ship being "engulfed in thick smoke" after sustaining a direct hit from US forces.
Complementing these naval strikes, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated that America has struck nearly 200 targets inside Iran over the past 72 hours. He noted that these actions have significantly degraded Tehran's missile and drone attack capabilities.
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Cooper detailed the scale of the ongoing military operation, titled 'Operation Epic Fury', which specifically targets Iranian missile launchers and infrastructure. "In just the last 72 hours, America's bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran. In just the last hour, U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers dropped dozens of 2,000lb Penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers," Cooper said.
According to the commander, these strikes have sharply reduced the scale of Iranian retaliatory attacks since the operation began. He noted that compared to the start of the mission, ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90 per cent and drone attacks by 83 per cent, adding, "we're now up over 30 ships [destroyed]."
Cooper also revealed that 'Operation Epic Fury' has expanded to target the long-term capacity of Iran's missile programme, following instructions from US President Donald Trump. "President Trump gave us another task to raze or level Iran's ballistic missile industrial base," he said. "We're not just hitting what they have, we're destroying their ability to rebuild. We will systemically dismantle Iran's missile production capability for the future, and that's absolutely in progress."
The CENTCOM chief also highlighted a unique programme involving a captured Iranian drone design, named LUCAS, which has been reverse-engineered and redeployed by US forces. "LUCAS -- indispensable... This was an original Iranian drone design. We captured it, pulled the guts out, sent it back to America, put a little 'Made in America' on it, brought it back here, and we're shooting it at the Iranians," Cooper stated.
These remarks come amid escalating tensions in West Asia following a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28. That operation resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran.
In retaliation, Iran has launched waves of drone and missile attacks targeting American military bases across multiple Arab countries as the conflict enters its seventh day. Simultaneously, Israel is continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
