Share and Follow
In a historic military move, a U.S. submarine has sunk an Iranian vessel with an underwater torpedo, marking the first such action since World War II. This significant development was disclosed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday.
Hegseth emphasized that this precise strike is part of a broader escalation in the U.S. military’s bombing campaign against Iran, suggesting that America’s efforts in this conflict are only beginning to intensify.
Thus far, over 2,000 targets have been struck in the ongoing war with Iran, which has spanned just over 100 hours. A significant victory for the U.S. was the elimination of a top Iranian strategist who had been orchestrating a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump after the 2024 election.
With the U.S. military asserting control over the skies, they have begun deploying laser-guided precision gravity bombs. This strategic move follows the appointment of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei—son of the late Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes last Saturday.
One of the most notable achievements, according to Hegseth, is the successful destruction of an Iranian warship via an underwater torpedo, demonstrating a significant technological and tactical capability in the U.S. military arsenal.
‘An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,’ the secretary said at a morning press conference at the Pentagon.
‘Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo, [a] quiet death, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.’
It’s the first time a US submarine has sunk a ship since World War II. In 1982, Great Britain’s nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror sank an Argentine ship with a torpedo during the Falklands War.
Hegseth said the torpedo attack occurred on Monday in the Indian Ocean. The secretary did not name the ship, but earlier, an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Video of the incident, taken from the US submarine’s periscope and released by the Department of War, shows the Iranian warship jolt violently upwards before exploding in a giant plume of smoke and water.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo, the first attack of its kind since WWII
Video released by the Department of War shows the US submarine’s view of the exploding Iranian warship
The military used a Mark 48 Torpedo – with a 650-pound warhead – which was detonated under the ship’s stern.
The vessel’s stern, where the torpedo first hit, was lifted out of the water momentarily after impact in the video.
Sri Lankan foreign affairs minister Vijitha Herath announced that the strike occurred around 5 am local time. He told parliament 180 people were on board the Iranian vessel, which he identified as the IRIS Dena.
‘By 6am we dispatched a naval vessel and by 7am the second naval vessel,’ Hegseth said. Sri Lankan officials announced at least 80 people were killed in the torpedo attack.
Sri Lankan officials also noted how 32 members of the crew were rescued and brought to a local hospital.
The Iranian Iris Dena was one of its newest warships. It was reportedly equipped with surface-to-air missiles, a cannon, machine guns, torpedo launchers and anti-ship missiles.
A Dept. of Defense map entitled, Operation EPIC FURY Timeline – First 100 Hours, is displayed during a news conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, at the Pentagon
A picture taken with a drone shows the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena anchored in the port of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2023
The tip of the vessel can be seen before it is engulfed by the waters of the Indian Ocean
The vessel took part in a naval drill in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to 25, according to the exercise’s website.
‘The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,’ Hegseth said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine celebrated the feat alongside Hegseth at the Pentagon, noting that the US has struck over 2,000 targets.
‘We’ve destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels,’ Caine said.
‘Iran’s major naval presence in theater out there, as the Secretary showed the video, for the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mark 48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.’
The Iranian vessel before the torpedo impact
The force from the torpedo sent a towering plume of what appears to be smoke and water into the air
Hegseth was joined by Caine to give an update at the Pentagon as the war hit over 100 hours.
The secretary claimed that an Iranian leader who plotted to assassinate Trump was killed in US strikes.
Hegseth said ‘the leader of the unit that attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,’ at a press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
Though this was ‘not the focus’ of the mission and ‘never raised by the president,’ Hegseth said he and others ensured the leader was added to the ‘target list.’ He did not identify the individual or specify the nature of the plot against Trump.
Trump has claimed that he authorized the US-Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday because intelligence showed that Iran was targeting him.
‘Four days in we have only just begun,’ Hegseth said. ‘Now with complete control of the skies, we will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile.’
Hegseth said the US had opened the campaign with ‘exquisite standoff munitions,’ sophisticated long-range weapons designed to strike from beyond the reach of enemy air defenses.
He said those munitions were no longer needed, pushing back at reports of stretched supplies with the assurance that ‘our stockpile of those remains extremely strong.’
Tomahawk missiles cost upwards of $2 million apiece; gravity bombs deliver a comparable punch for roughly $25,000 per unit, though they require total air superiority to be deployed within range.
Entering day five of the conflict, over a thousand are confirmed dead.
At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday.
In Israel, 11 people have been killed. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. At least six US troops have been killed.