Newly released footage has captured the exact moment US forces hit Iran’s key drone carrier Shahid Bagheri in a coordinated series of strikes, turning the converted container ship into a burning hulk within minutes, defence officials say.

Thermal video from a nearby surveillance drone shows the first salvo of sea‑launched Tomahawk missiles slamming into the forward deck at 02:17 local time, ripping open launch bays packed with attack drones. Eleven seconds later, a second wave of precision‑guided bombs—dropped by high‑altitude strike aircraft—pummeled the aft section, triggering massive secondary explosions as fuel and munitions cooked off.

Infrared images reveal fireballs towering hundreds of metres into the night sky, followed by a cascade of smaller blasts racing along the ship’s length as one drone storage compartment after another detonated. Within five minutes, Shahid Bagheri was listing heavily, its superstructure engulfed in flames and thick black smoke pouring across the harbour.

US Central Command calls the operation a “multi‑axis kill chain,” designed to ensure the carrier could neither launch nor evacuate its drone arsenal. Commanders say the ship had served as a “floating arsenal” for long‑range strikes on US bases, Israel and Gulf shipping lanes.

Tehran insists damage is “serious but not fatal” and vows that “new drone mother‑ships” will soon replace Bagheri. But satellite imagery circulating among analysts shows a gutted, half‑submerged hull—raising a stark question for Iran’s leadership: was this just the loss of one flagship, or the moment its entire offshore drone strategy went up in smoke?