An American airstrike has destroyed Iran’s quirky attempt at building an aircraft carrier, the Shahid Bagheri, which was only commissioned last year.
Operation Epic Fury has seen the United States destroy “over 30” Iranian warships, it was stated, as America moves to end Iran’s capacity to exert malign influence over the region and its ability to fund terrorism worldwide. United States Navy Admiral Bradley Cooper provided an update on the situation on Thursday evening, revealing the continuing pace of strikes and, in particular, Iran’s loss of its new ‘carrier’.
Admiral Cooper said:
…our strikes against the Iranian Navy have intensified, You may have heard the president say just a little while ago that we have sunk or destroyed 24 ships. That was true at the moment. We are now up over 30 ships and 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 is on fire.
The “drone carrier ship” is the Shahid Bagheri, a converted civilian container ship. Footage published by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) shows the distinct shape of the Shahid Bagheri take a hit on its flight deck, which erupts into a torrent of billowing flame. The video cuts to an unspecified later time, where the fire forward is clearly well established, and a second strike hits the ship aft, possibly on the superstructure which typically houses crew accommodation and the bridge.
The force of the second impact sends large pieces of wreckage flying through the air and into the sea. The U.S. hasn’t made clear what the ultimate fate of the ship was yet, but did imply it was among the ranks of the “sunk or destroyed”, and as of Thursday night was “on fire”. Given the drone carrier was converted from a civilian cargo ship and would consequently have been built with less robust fire fighting and flooding prevention measures than a purpose-built warship, the chances of it being meaningfully saved are at best slender.
The converted merchant ship entered Iranian military service with quite some fanfare in February 2025. Iran published footage of operations on the deck of the ‘carrier’, showing off its ability to operate helicopters and drones. According to an Iranian military officer who spoke at the time, the ship was capable of circumnavigating the globe and was intended to “operate independently in international waters for a year. It can launch long-range missiles… it can defend itself against aerial attacks”.
In addition to the drones, it was claimed to carry its own deployable flotilla of fast-attack boats — launchable from the hold by way of davits — and even miniature submarines and Iranian or Chinese anti-ship missiles.
The ship was grimly mocked by some observers at the time for the nature and scale of the drones shown launching, which to some eyes appeared to be little more than hobbyist-scale model aeroplanes.
The publication of the footage showing the demise of the Shahid Bagheri follows the United States also releasing periscope video of the destruction of Iranian frigate Dena. The destruction of the Dena on the high seas apparently prompted a second Iranian warship, the fleet oiler Bushehr, to sail into Sri Lankan territorial waters and turn itself over for internment for the remainder of hostilities.
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