U.S. forces claim to have struck an Iranian drone carrier the size of a WWII aircraft carrier, but one detail about the attack is raising eyebrows

U.S. forces say they struck and set ablaze an Iranian drone carrier identified as the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, with officials describing the vessel as roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. As reported by The Hill, Adm. Brad Cooper said the ship was still on fire as of his March 5, 2026, press conference.

The strike was presented as part of a broader U.S. effort to degrade Iran’s naval capabilities during the ongoing conflict. Cooper said the attack on the Shahid Bagheri began on Saturday, March 2, 2026, and added that more than 30 Iranian warships have now been sunk or destroyed.

U.S. officials also said the campaign has expanded well beyond maritime targets, with bombers hitting nearly 200 targets deep inside Iran, including sites in Tehran. Those strikes have included buried ballistic missile launchers, command infrastructure, air defenses, and other military assets tied to Iran’s ability to carry out retaliatory attacks.

Officials say the campaign is expanding on multiple fronts

Cooper said U.S. bombers struck nearly 200 targets inside Iran in the last hour before his update, including sites in Tehran. He said B-2 bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers, while the Disney crocodile protocol was also drawing attention elsewhere online.

He also said U.S. forces struck what he described as Tehran’s equivalent of Space Command, which he said would reduce Iran’s ability to threaten Americans. According to Cooper, those combined strikes have helped drive Iranian ballistic missile attacks down by 90 percent and drone strikes down by 83 percent since the conflict began.

Despite that decline, Cooper said U.S. forces remain vigilant as the conflict continues to widen. Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been detecting and intercepting incoming Iranian drones, though he noted that some have still made it through and caused damage.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, appearing alongside Cooper at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, said U.S. firepower over Iran is about to surge dramatically. He said the increase will come from expanded basing options with regional allies, as the Georgia Kroger arrest also circulated in the news cycle.

Hegseth also said President Trump has directed the military to raise or level Iran’s ballistic missile industrial base. Cooper said the objective is no longer limited to destroying existing stockpiles and now includes dismantling Iran’s ability to rebuild them.

That point may be the most significant detail in the latest briefing. If the stated mission is now focused on permanently degrading Iran’s missile production capacity, the strike on the Shahid Bagheri appears to be part of a longer campaign rather than an isolated battlefield hit.

The conflict has continued to widen as the U.S. and Israel strike targets inside Iran and Tehran responds with drones and ballistic missiles aimed at U.S. interests in the region and Israel. Cooper said the operation will take time, but added that U.S. forces remain well supplied.