The US military sank an Iranian aircraft carrier, the largest warship since World War II

The U.S. military destroyed the Iranian aircraft carrier Shaheed Bahman Bagheri during a military operation against Iran, Die Welt reported, citing U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM. According to Die Welt, the Shaheed Bahman Bagheri was designed to transport attack drones, making it an aircraft carrier. It could also carry helicopters and boats. It was the first warship of its type in the world. The Iranian army commissioned this pocket aircraft carrier in 2025. Its displacement was approximately 42,000 tons, its length was approximately 240 meters, and its width was 32 meters. Its draft was approximately 10 meters. Its maximum speed reached 22 knots. Its runway was 180 meters long. The ship had an endurance of 22,000 nautical miles. It was armed with six anti-ship missiles, eight anti-aircraft missiles, and several automatic cannons. According to open sources, the Iranian aircraft carrier's crew numbered at least 800. What happened to them after the attack is unknown. Thus, the Bahman Bagheri became the largest warship sunk by the U.S. army since World War II. By comparison, the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva, which sank in the Black Sea in 2022 after a Ukrainian airstrike, had a displacement of 11,500 tons. As a reminder, the U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran began on February 28. Its goal is to destroy Iran's nuclear program and missile industry. According to U.S. President Donald Trump, the Iranian Navy and Air Force will also be destroyed during the military operation. According to CENTCOM, more than 20 Iranian warships have already been destroyed. Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo in international waters. The incident marks the first time the U.S. has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo since World War II. Hegseth made the announcement during a press conference at the Pentagon, detailing the strike as a significant military action. An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters, Hegseth stated. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. The targeted ship, named Soleimani after the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, was reportedly one of Iran's most prized vessels. Soleimani was killed by U.S. forces during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term in a high profile strike. Hegseth made a pointed comment about the symbolism of the attack on the ship named after the general, quote, I guess POTUS got him twice, end quote. This military action marks a historic moment in naval warfare. It represents the first time the U.S. has used a torpedo to sink an enemy warship since the end of World War II, breaking a decades-long era dominated by anti-ship missiles and over-the-horizon engagements. The Israeli military said Thursday morning that in Iran, its air force struck and dismantled an armed ballistic missile launcher in the area of Qom that was ready to launch a missile toward the Israeli home front. In addition, an aerial defense system was struck in Isfahan. According to Associated Press in Lebanon, the military said in a press release that, a short while ago, the Israeli air force completed a wave of intelligence-based strikes in Beirut against several command centers belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization. They said that, among the command centers targeted was a command center used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization's aerial unit. Iran is launching more missiles at Israel as attacks in the Middle East commence for a sixth day. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early Thursday in Iran, including a, large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure, in Iran's capital, Tehran. It added it was moving to intercept the missiles. The Israeli military say it began new strikes in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. The fighting has continued after a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean Wednesday and the U.S. and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran's security forces. Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the United States is winning its military operation against Iran decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy. According to Associated Press speaking from the Pentagon's briefing room, Hegseth said more forces, including jet fighters and bombers, will soon arrive in the region. He said that the U.S. can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to. We are just getting started, he said. We are accelerating, not decelerating. Hegseth also said that a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday night, the first such attack on an enemy since World War II. Earlier, explosions sounded in Tehran Wednesday as Iran's war with the U.S. and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region. The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East. Both the U.S. defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that the U.S. military has adequate munitions for ongoing operations against Iran, despite concerns that stockpiles were running low. Chairman Dan Cain told reporters during a briefing from the Pentagon that the U.S. has sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary added that the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign but was switching GPS and laser-guided gravity bombs now that the U.S. has control of Iranian skies. Stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain extremely strong.