OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
3:36 PM – Wednesday, March 4, 2026
A U.S. Navy submarine reportedly sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean using a single torpedo, in what U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described as a “quiet death.”
The strike is part of the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign to degrade Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities — and marks the first time since World War II that a U.S. submarine has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo.
Hegseth announced the overnight “quiet death” of the IRIS Shahid Soleimani during a Pentagon press conference with Joint Chiefs Chair Dan “Raizin” Caine on Wednesday, emphasizing that the U.S. had wiped out Iran’s navy, as well as its “prize ship.”
Hegseth explained that the Iranian fleet now “rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,” adding that over 20 Iranian naval vessels have also been destroyed or sunk. This maritime collapse was punctuated by the overnight destruction of the IRIS Shahid Soleimani, which Hegseth further described as the “jewel of Iran’s navy.”
“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean, … an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth explained. “Instead it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death.”
“The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II,” he continued. “Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win.”
The United States Department of War, originally established in 1789 to oversee George Washington’s Continental Army, was unified into the Department of Defense (DOD) in the late 1940s to bring the Army, Navy, and Air Force under one banner.
However, following a September 2025 Executive Order (EO) signed by President Donald Trump, the DOD was formally renamed the Department of War (DoW) to signal a return to a mission of “lethal victory.” This shift was punctuated on Wednesday, when Hegseth and Caine announced the “quiet death” of the IRIS Dena during a Pentagon press conference.
The Iranian frigate was intercepted and sunk by a U.S. Navy attack submarine in the Indian Ocean using a Mk-48 heavyweight torpedo. The Department of War corroborated the announcement by releasing infrared periscope footage and still images of the impact on X, showing the torpedo breaking the ship’s keel before it submerged.
According to reports, the engagement took place approximately 40 nautical miles off the coast of Galle, Sri Lanka. Following the strike, Sri Lankan authorities reported recovering 87 bodies from the water, with only 32 survivors rescued from the estimated 180 personnel on board.
General Caine stated that the operation has effectively rendered the Iranian Navy “combat ineffective,” as the U.S. and Israel continue to dismantle Iran’s broader military and nuclear infrastructure.
U.S. Central Command also confirmed in an X post that American forces have now successfully sunk more than 20 vessels belonging to the Iranian regime.
Additionally, during the press conference, Hegseth announced that the U.S. successfully eliminated the unnamed leader of an Iranian covert unit.
This individual was identified as the mastermind behind a specific plot to assassinate President Trump during the 2024 campaign — an effort that Hegseth noted had shifted from a “murky intelligence concern” to a confirmed military target.
This strike followed a provocation from Iranian state television, which had aired footage of the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting with a message in Persian warning that the next assassination attempt would “not miss.”
Referencing this history of threats, Hegseth declared that while the U.S. is focused on dismantling Iran’s broader military and nuclear infrastructure, it also remains committed to neutralizing those who target American leaders.
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