U.S. Central Command declared Monday that Iran’s naval presence in the Gulf of Oman has been reduced to “ZERO,” announcing that every Iranian warship operating in the strategic waterway at the outset of Operation Epic Fury has been destroyed as American forces struck more than 1,250 targets in the first 48 hours of the campaign.
Posting on the third day of operations, United States Central Command wrote on X: “Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO.”
“The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over,” the command added. “Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.”
The statement was accompanied by newly released video footage appearing to show precision strikes hitting docked Iranian vessels and shoreline naval infrastructure.
According to CENTCOM, all Iranian naval vessels stationed in the Gulf of Oman when the operation began Saturday have since been sunk. The destroyed ships reportedly included major surface combatants and support vessels long used by Tehran to harass commercial shipping and conduct drone and missile operations in regional waters.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump has made clear that dismantling Iran’s naval capabilities was a central objective of the campaign.
Speaking Monday, Trump said U.S. forces are “annihilating their navy” and destroying Iran’s missile capabilities “hourly,” framing the maritime offensive as a decisive blow against Tehran’s ability to threaten international shipping lanes.
The Gulf of Oman links the Arabian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz — a corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes — giving the destruction of Tehran’s fleet immediate strategic and economic significance.
The naval campaign is part of a much broader assault.
In a fact sheet released earlier Monday, CENTCOM confirmed that U.S. forces struck more than 1,250 targets during the first 48 hours of Operation Epic Fury — up from more than 1,000 in the opening 24 hours alone.
Those targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters and command-and-control centers, ballistic missile production and launch sites, naval vessels and submarines, anti-ship missile facilities, air defense systems, and communications infrastructure.
The campaign has involved B-2 stealth bombers, F-35 fighter jets, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and naval strike platforms operating across multiple theaters, as U.S. forces move to dismantle assets deemed to pose imminent threats to American forces, allies, and international maritime navigation.
Operation Epic Fury began over the weekend with coordinated U.S.–Israeli strikes that eliminated at least 48 senior Iranian officials, including former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, dealing the regime an immediate and unprecedented decapitation blow at the outset of the campaign.
The destruction of Tehran’s Gulf fleet builds on those opening strikes, which targeted senior leadership, command-and-control centers, missile sites, and other military infrastructure, underscoring the breadth and sequencing of operations during the first 48 hours.
Israeli intelligence officials later described the opening assault as a carefully timed strike launched at an unexpected hour while senior leadership was gathered in one location — a rare convergence that allowed multiple top figures to be taken out simultaneously.
Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, head of Israel’s Intelligence Directorate, said more than 40 of Iran’s most senior figures were eliminated in roughly 40 seconds during one coordinated strike, underscoring what he described as the depth and precision of the intelligence effort.
“There is no place where we will not find them,” Binder said, warning that additional targets are being identified daily.
Trump signaled Monday that the current phase represents only the beginning.
“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” he said. “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
With Iran’s Gulf fleet erased and more than 1,250 military targets struck in two days, U.S. officials are making clear that while the maritime objective has been achieved, the broader campaign is accelerating.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
