On March 6, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) released a video recording the scene of an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ship being attacked at sea, creating two large explosions that shook the ship.
According to CENTCOM, the target hit was the IRIS Shahid Bagheri ship, which Iran uses as an "UAV aircraft carrier". In a video posted on CENTCOM's X account, two consecutive explosions can be seen on the deck when the ship was moving offshore.
Today, an Iranian UAV ship, about the size of a World War II aircraft carrier, was attacked and caught fire," CENTCOM said.
According to information from the US, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri was hit in the first wave of airstrikes deployed by the US on February 28.
This ship was originally a civilian container ship before being converted and put into service by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 2025.
Iranian media reported that the ship is equipped with a runway about 180m long, capable of deploying many types of reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as helicopters.
The conversion of civilian ships into UAV deployment platforms is seen as part of Iran's naval power expansion strategy.
The attack on the Shahid Bagheri ship took place amid increasingly tense military operations at sea between the US and Iran.
A US submarine launched torpedoes to sink Iran's IRIS Dena frigate in international waters near Sri Lanka when the ship was on its way back from a naval exercise organized by India.
According to Sri Lankan officials, the country's navy rescued 32 sailors, while at least 87 people died and 61 are still missing after the incident.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the sinking of the Dena ship as a "crime at sea", and warned that this action would increase tensions in the region.
The latest developments show that the conflict between the US and Iran is expanding to the maritime front, with attacks targeting both warships and strategic military platforms of Tehran.
