Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday claimed that it had struck the LHA-7, a US military amphibious assault vessel better known as the USS Tripoli.
According to the IRGC, the naval vessel carrying more than 5,000 sailors and Marines had been allegedly hit by a barrage of short-range missiles, "forcing it to retreat deep into the southern Indian Ocean". The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), however, has noted that it had only 3,500 Marines onboard.
Daily operations and training continue for the 3,500 Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) who are staying sharp and maintaining peak warfighting readiness in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/H0uPd2CwI8
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 1, 2026
The IRGC announced that the alleged strike was part of a bigger operation jointly carried out by its naval and aerospace forces against US-Israel, as per a Tasnim report.
The US has not yet spoken out about the USS Tripoli's alleged retreat amid the war, which is well past its first month. It is also not yet known if the alleged strikes on the vessel led to any casualties.
The report added that the operation also involved attacks on an Israel-linked cargo ship—that they called the SDN7—using cruise missiles. The ship caught fire extensively, the IRGC claimed.
This comes amid the assassination of one of the IRGC's most senior commanders, Majid Khademi, in airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday. Tehran has not yet confirmed the death.
🔴 ELIMINATED: Majid Khademi, the Head of Intelligence of the IRGC.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 6, 2026
Khademi was one of the IRGC’s most senior commanders and had accumulated extensive experience over many years.
Khademi worked to advance terrorist attacks worldwide, and was responsible for monitoring Iranian… pic.twitter.com/iASwqdOmoe
"Iran's leaders live with a sense of persecution. We will continue to hunt them down one by one," Katz said on Monday about the airstrikes.
Statement from President Trump on South Pars Gas Field: pic.twitter.com/YrjhDdGTxP
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 19, 2026
This also comes amid Israel's "powerful strike" on Monday on a key Iranian petrochemical plant in the massive South Pars natural gas field—that is responsible for about half of Tehran's oil production—according to Tel Aviv's defence minister Israel Katz.
The attack on the petrochemical field that Iran shares with Qatar comes despite US President Donald Trump assuring in March that no further attacks on the massive gas field would take place.
However, he had also warned at the time that if Iran continued striking Qatar's energy facilities, he would be forced to "massively blow up the entirety of the field".
Notably, at the time, he had also denied that the US had any knowledge about "this particular attack". In that regard, it is yet to be seen how Trump reacts to the strike this time round, with peace negotiations consistently failing and the end of his 10-day ultimatum coming to an end on Tuesday.
