Piousbox

Update (0844ET):

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that "America is winning" as Operation Epic Fury continues to neutralize IRGC high-value assets across Iran. This is the second news conference at the Department of War since the operation began on Saturday morning.

Hegseth also provided an update on the IRGC Navy's IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi, Soleimani-class corvette, that sank overnight, saying, "Last night, we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani. Looks like POTUS got him twice."

🚨HEGSETH: "Last night, we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani, looks like POTUS got him twice." pic.twitter.com/LIHv6rXJGV

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) March 4, 2026

Here's footage of the warship: 

Exclusive /
IRGC Navy's IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi, Soleimani-class corvette warship has been targeted.
Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, #Iran

(Do not watermark my media please, copy/use/share AS IS) pic.twitter.com/eOzhrlgrXo

— Shin (@hey_itsmyturn) March 4, 2026

However, Hegseth did not provide an update on the Mowj-class frigate Dena that sank off the coast of Sri Lanka in what local officials described as a submarine attack. We're sure the Trump administration will boast about that hit in the near future.

*   *   * 

The latest escalation, with at least ten tankers burning in or around the Strait of Hormuz, an overnight kamikaze drone boat strike on a Russian shadow-fleet LNG tanker in the Mediterranean Sea, and the reported sinking of an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka in what local officials described as a submarine attack, only suggests to any seasoned military strategist that the conflicts tied to the Middle East and Eastern Europe are expanding beyond their traditional theaters.

Reuters reports that Iran's Navy Mowj-class frigate Dena was sunk by a US submarine off Sri Lanka's Indian Ocean coast. According to a source in Sri Lanka's navy and defense ministry, the submarine attack left 32 personnel rescued by Sri Lankan authorities, while 101 remain missing.

Defense sources explained to the media outlet that it was unclear who attacked the Iranian warship.

Here's more from Reuters:

The navy received a distress call from an Iranian ship and informed the Sri Lankan air force, and both launched a search and rescue operation, the spokesman said.

Sri Lankan forces were focused on saving lives on the Iranian ship and will investigate the cause of the incident later, he said.

Sri Lankan forces had also not observed any other ship or aircraft in the area of the incident, he added.

"We are hopeful we can rescue more people and will continue (operations) until we are sure," he said.

Related:

• Russia Says Ukrainian Drone Boat Blew Up Shadow LNG Tanker In Mediterranean

• Trump Gives Assurances To Tankers Passing Through Hormuz

Let's not forget that US forces in Operation Epic Fury have destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian naval fleet in the port of Bandar Abbas, while Ali Shamkhani, an admiral in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by an airstrike. The US-Israeli strikes have reportedly wiped out Iran's air force and navy.

"They have no navy; it's been knocked out. They have no air force; it's been knocked out. They have no air detection; that's been knocked out," President Trump said on Tuesday afternoon during a news conference at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

.@POTUS touts the UNBELIEVABLE success of Operation Epic Fury. 🇺🇸

"They have NO NAVY, it's been knocked out. They have NO AIRFORCE, it's been knocked out. NO AIR detection—that's been knocked out. Just about everything has been knocked out...We have a great military." 🙏 pic.twitter.com/b9Uazk6rkA

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 3, 2026

Without a credible air force or navy, the IRGC's ability to sustain any meaningful blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will be limited. However, its capacity to wage asymmetric warfare through drones is still unsettling to shipowners, which helps explain why President Trump has offered insurance backstops and naval escorts for tankers transiting the narrow waterway.