Iran’s Navy ERASED — Eleven Warships OBLITERATED

Close-up of a battleships naval guns and superstructure against a cloudy sky

America’s military has obliterated Iran’s naval threat in a devastating display of force that reduced the regime’s Gulf of Oman fleet from eleven warships to zero in just days, ending decades of maritime terrorism and Strait of Hormuz threats.

Story Snapshot

U.S. and Israeli forces destroyed Iran’s drone carrier, forward base ship, and up to eleven warships under Operation Epic Fury starting February 28, 2026
CENTCOM confirmed Iran’s Gulf of Oman fleet reduced to zero operational vessels, crippling the regime’s ability to threaten global oil shipping lanes
President Trump declared the mission will “annihilate” Iran’s navy after decades of harassment and attacks on American interests
Iran’s recent naval modernization efforts, including the newly commissioned Shahid Bagheri drone carrier, destroyed within a year of deployment

Operation Epic Fury Eliminates Iranian Naval Power

U.S. Central Command launched Operation Epic Fury at 1:15 a.m. local time on February 28, 2026, targeting IRGC facilities, air defenses, ballistic missiles, and Iran’s naval fleet. Within five days, American and Israeli forces sank key Iranian assets including the Shahid Bagheri drone carrier, the IRIS Makran forward base ship, and a Jamaran-class corvette. B-2 stealth bombers struck Bandar Abbas naval base, setting facilities ablaze and destroying infrastructure critical to Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz through which twenty to thirty percent of global oil flows.

President Trump announced on March 1 that nine Iranian naval ships had been destroyed and sunk, with that number rising to ten by March 2. CENTCOM released thermal imagery on March 3 showing eleven warships destroyed in the Gulf of Oman, confirming what military analysts called a complete elimination of Iran’s surface fleet capability in that critical waterway. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine briefed the mission as a “relentless campaign” prioritizing the navy’s annihilation to restore freedom of navigation after years of regime aggression.

Decades of Iranian Maritime Threats End

Iran’s naval strategy since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War relied on asymmetric warfare through small boat swarms, mines, and converted commercial vessels to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The regime escalated harassment from 2019 to 2021 with tanker seizures and drone attacks on commercial vessels, emboldening terrorist proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. This reckless aggression forced multiple U.S. carrier deployments to protect international waters while the regime pursued nuclear weapons development, directly threatening American allies and global energy security.

The destruction of the Shahid Bagheri represents a particularly significant blow to Iran’s ambitions. The regime commissioned this 40,000-ton converted container ship with a ski-jump runway in February 2025 as the centerpiece of naval modernization, intending to project power through drone operations. American forces sank this flagship within a year of deployment, demonstrating that no amount of improvised naval buildup can match U.S. military superiority. The targeting of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s primary naval hub on the Strait of Hormuz, further gutted the regime’s ability to coordinate maritime operations or threaten shipping lanes.

Strategic Victory Restores American Dominance

Military analysts across Naval News, The War Zone, and U.S. Naval Institute News unanimously assessed the strikes as strategically decisive, ending Iran’s era of naval harassment. The operation follows the precedent of 1988’s Operation Praying Mantis when the U.S. Navy sank Iranian ships after mine attacks, but Epic Fury’s scope far exceeds that earlier engagement. By eliminating the regime’s surface fleet backbone, including multiple Jamaran-class corvettes from a force of six, American forces have removed Iran’s capacity for coordinated naval aggression and restored freedom of navigation principles that protect global commerce.

Iran’s desperate retaliation through closing the Strait of Hormuz and launching unverified claims of hitting U.S. carriers exposes the regime’s weakness. CENTCOM denied these fabrications while confirming carriers Abraham Lincoln and Gerald R. Ford remain fully operational with only three American personnel killed and five wounded. Traffic through Hormuz dropped eighty-five percent as Iran attempted to enforce closure, but the regime lacks the naval assets to sustain such blockades now that its fleet lies at the bottom of the Gulf of Oman. This victory sets a clear precedent for preemptive action against rogue states modernizing forces to threaten American interests and allies.