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U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released footage on Friday of a strike on an Iranian drone carrier that was set ablaze.
The commander of U.S. forces in the region said more than 30 Iranian ships have now been destroyed and revealed that the submarine USS Charlotte fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena earlier this week.
"U.S. forces aren't holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy," CENTCOM wrote on X, releasing black-and-white footage showing the carrier ablaze after multiple strikes.
"Today, an Iranian drone carrier, roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier, was struck and is now on fire," the post said.
CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed the strike during a briefing at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
"At the moment, we're now up over 30 ships. In just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War Two aircraft carrier. And as we speak, it's on fire," Cooper said.
The drone carrier, named the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship that Iran inaugurated in February 2025. The vessel features a 180-meter-long (590-foot) runway for drones and can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel, according to reports at the time of its launch.
The torpedo that struck the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean earlier this week was fired by the USS Charlotte, a Los Angeles-class U.S. attack submarine, multiple U.S. officials told CBS News on Thursday.
"The USS Charlotte fired two MK 48 torpedoes at the IRIS Dena. The first torpedo missed, but the second sank the warship," the officials said.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth first announced the attack on Wednesday, telling reporters the Iranian warship "thought it was safe in international waters."
The strike was the first time an American submarine fired a torpedo against an enemy ship since World War II.
Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 crew members from the IRIS Dena after it sank off the coast of Galle, with at least 101 sailors still missing and bodies recovered from the sea.
Three American MQ-9 Reaper drones were downed during the conflict, U.S. officials told CBS News.
It was not clear where exactly the drones crashed, though one of the Reapers attempted to crash off the coast of Iran. It was also unclear how they were brought down or by whom.
"In a separate incident, another MQ-9 Reaper was shot down at some point over the last few days by what was believed to be friendly fire from Qatari forces," the officials said.
The losses add to the mounting costs of the conflict.
The United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 1,000 people.
Iran has retaliated with over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones targeting Israel and U.S. assets across the Gulf, resulting in the deaths of six U.S. service members.
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