Watch the moment a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship in a so-called "quiet death" strike in the Indian Ocean.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the vessel was targeted by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka while the US continues its bid to eliminate Tehran's navy.
The shocking footage, shared by the Pentagon, shows the moment the warship was subjected to a torpedo fired by the Americans.
The ship received a mammoth blow before it was partially catapulted into the air, tearing apart the rear of the vessel while it began to sink from the stern.
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Experts have identified the warship as the IRIS Dena by its deck shape and mast of the vessel visible in the video.
There are currently at least 87 confirmed dead following the incident, with dozens more left injured.
Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan operation resulted in 32 sailors being rescued.
However, Mr Hegseth said the attack was a "quiet death" for the warship, which was a Moudge-class frigate from the Southern Fleet of the Islamic Republic's navy.
| REUTERS
Such a vessel has the capacity to carry approximately 180 sailors.
The US has claimed it has eliminated 17 of its enemy's vessels so far as part of its bid to destroy "the entire navy" of the Islamic Republic.
Earlier today at the Pentagon, Mr Hegseth said: "The Iranian air force is no more. The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf."
He added: "An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death."
LATEST ON THE US-IRAN WAR:
The Pentagon released the video this afternoon
|REUTERS
At the briefing, American officials vowed to bomb "progressively deeper into Iranian territory" as Mr Hegseth warned "more and larger waves are coming".
The destroyed ship was on its way back from participating in an Indian naval exercise between February 18 and 25.
After responding to the incident, Sri Lankan navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said: "We found people floating in the water and rescued them.
"Later on, we found upon inquiring that they belonged to the Iranian ship."
The warship's destruction today is the first time a submarine has sunk a key warship since Britain targeted the Belgrano in May 1982, almost half a century ago.
However, the realm of war is expanding, with an Iranian missile being intercepted by Nato.
The event is the first time Tehran has directed its aim towards Nato territory during the current US-Iran conflict – an attempted fire which was shot down over Iraqi and Syrian airspace.
On Tuesday, Iran issued an eerie warning to Europe – declaring support for US and Israeli strikes would kickstart retaliation.
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