According to Hegseth, the Iranian air force, formed in 1996, was “destroyed in 2026” and the country's fleet lies “at the bottom of the Persian Gulf.” The head of the Pentagon added that he no longer has military effectiveness, because he was defeated and destroyed.
The minister noted that the American submarine sank the Iranian flagship Soleimani, which previously felt safe in international waters.
“It was sunk by a torpedo. A quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II,” Hegseth noted.
Video: Associated Press/YouTube
The Pentagon published a video online showing an American submarine attacking an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Context
On the morning of February 28, Israel announced the military operation “Lion's Roar” in Iran. In the USA it was called “Epic Fury”. US President Donald Trump stated his intention to “protect the American people by eliminating the immediate threats from the Iranian regime.” Explosions were heard in Tehran and a number of other cities in the country.
Tehran threatened a “crushing” retaliatory strike. Later, explosions began to be recorded in several countries in the Middle East where there are American military bases – in particular, in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, and Iraq.
On March 2, Trump said that a “big wave” of attacks on Iran was still ahead and the US operation could take four weeks.
On March 3, The New York Times reported that since the start of the US-Israeli operation in Iran and Tehran's retaliatory strikes, more than 870 people have died in the Middle East. According to Axios, the UAE has become the country that has suffered the most attacks from Iran, with approximately 800 strikes.
