As the conflict in the Middle East begins to take on a regional scale, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has revealed that it has managed to destroy up to 11 vessels belonging to the Iranian Navy במסגרת Operation Epic Fury, including the IRIS Makran, which had been converted into an expeditionary base from its original role as an oil tanker. This development comes alongside the publication of new satellite images showing severe damage from bombings at the Bandar Abbas naval base, a key hub for deploying assets in the Strait of Hormuz, making it a high-value strategic target for Washington and for sustaining maritime trade routes in the region.
Quoting CENTCOM’s official statements on social media: “Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman; today it has none. The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over. Freedom of navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.” At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump stated during a recent medal ceremony that “annihilating” Iran’s naval force was a priority objective of Operation Epic Fury, estimating that strikes would continue over the coming weeks.
It is worth noting that the Strait of Hormuz has historically represented a key pressure point for Iran in economic terms. It is a geographic chokepoint approximately 58 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, through which more than 20% of the world’s oil trade passes—equivalent to roughly 20 million barrels per day. At the outset of the conflict, Iran quickly declared it would move to close the strait using its military assets, seeking to jeopardize global energy supplies. With the Bandar Abbas naval base visibly damaged in newly released satellite imagery, along with the alleged neutralization of 11 vessels, such a move would now be considerably more difficult to execute.
Assessing the damage more closely, the IRIS Makran appears to have been one of the primary targets severely damaged among the 11 vessels referenced by CENTCOM. The ship, measuring approximately 228 meters in length, is characterized by its large flight deck, which enabled it to function as an expeditionary base. It had even been deployed abroad by the Iranian Navy as one of its flagship vessels, notably visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2023 while escorted by the frigate IRIS Dena, before proceeding toward the Panama Canal.
Meanwhile, although smoke columns make it difficult to identify precisely which vessels were damaged, CENTCOM also recently indicated that a Jamaran-class light frigate was destroyed during the initial airstrikes—a claim later reinforced by President Trump, who stated that nine ships had been destroyed at the time of the announcement along with the Iranian Navy’s headquarters. In this context, and entering the realm of speculation, Western analysts have suggested that IRIS Sahand, IRIS Sabalan, IRIS Zagros, IRIS Jamaran, IRIS Bayandor, and IRIS Naghdi may have been sunk, while additional Kaman-class vessels may also have sustained damage.
Furthermore, the United States has stated that one of the newest and most distinctive vessels in the Iranian Navy, the drone carrier Shahid Bagheri, was also targeted. As previously reported in February 2025, this former oil tanker had likewise been converted to feature a 180-meter ski-jump flight deck, making it the only platform in the Iranian fleet capable of deploying fixed-wing unmanned systems, among other capabilities. This information was published yesterday on CENTCOM’s social media accounts in a post that also denied Iranian claims that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had been severely damaged.
However, despite the extensive damage to Iran’s surface fleet, satellite imagery available so far does not appear to show a similar level of destruction to its submarine fleet. In particular, the recently modernized Russian-built Kilo-class submarine appears to remain intact, as does the smaller Ghadir-class submarine fleet. As noted on February 24, reports had indicated that Iran had concentrated up to 11 of these smaller submarines at Bandar Abbas—approximately half of the total units in that class.
Image credits to respective owners.
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