Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced during a Wednesday press briefing that a U.S. Navy submarine fired a single Mark 48 torpedo to sink an Iranian warship. This strike marks the first enemy vessel sunk by a U.S. submarine torpedo since World War II, delivering what he called a "quiet death" to a ship that now lies on the bottom of the ocean.
Newly released footage from the Pentagon shows the incredibly impressive attack.
"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," Hegseth told reporters. "Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two. Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department. We are fighting to win."
.@SECWAR “In the Indian Ocean—an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship, that thought it was safe in international waters.
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 4, 2026
Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo—Quiet Death.
The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War 2. Like in that war—back when we were… pic.twitter.com/Y97YQBxQza
READ MORE: Nine Iranian Navy Ships Now on the Bottom of the Ocean
SecWar Pete Hegseth Updates on 'Operation Epic Fury': Not 'Mission Accomplished' - a 'Reality Check'
A 20-second video clip posted to X by the Department of War shares Hegseth's historic claim and appears to show the ship he was referencing.
A follow-up post shows an image of the strike as well as one of the ship well on its way to becoming an artificial reef.
https://t.co/PiqQpVIrMu pic.twitter.com/Wc1e0B0um7
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026
https://t.co/J4grAgoqxc pic.twitter.com/szOofLkh9W
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who had joined Hegseth at the briefing, said the Iranian ship was "effectively neutralized" in a Navy "fast attack" using a single torpedo.
Amazing. One can only view that video in sheer awe of the power, precision, and effectiveness of the US Navy strike. We've been subjected far too long to images contrary to that power—an Air Force jet departing Afghanistan while desperate people are dangling off of it, Iranian forces making sailors kneel with their hands behind their heads, etc.—that it is nice to be reminded that our fighting forces, under competent leadership, are the most lethal on the planet.
Adding a layer of symbolism to the decimation of the Iranian navy, Hegseth said the U.S. Navy sank the Iranian warship the Soleimani.
"The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. Combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated. Pick your adjective," the War Secretary reported. "In fact, last night we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani. Looks like POTUS got him twice. Their navy, not a factor. Pick your adjective. It is no more."
🚨 JUST IN: After Trump kiIIed Soleimani in 2020, the US military has now sunken his “pride ship,” the Soleimani
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 4, 2026
HEGSETH “Looks like POTUS got him twice!”
DAMN 🔥
pic.twitter.com/WRGoMckMPD
President Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani — a terrorist who served as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force — in 2020.
Whatever you may think of our nation's role in reining in Iran's nuclear aspirations, it's tremendous to see this much success coming from our fighting men and women in the military.
"The mission is laser-focused," Hegseth explained. "Obliterate Iran's missiles and drones, and facilities that produce them, annihilate its Navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb, not on our watch, not ever."
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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