By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the U.S. military was sinking Iran's Navy, having destroyed nine Iranian warships so far and "going after the rest."
Trump made the announcement in a social media post as the Pentagon intensified its bombings of Iran's military, deploying B-2 stealth bombers from the U.S. to strike at hardened, underground Iranian missile facilities with 2,000-lb bombs.
U.S. strikes also pummeled Iran's naval headquarters, largely destroying it, Trump said.
Iran's military is retaliating with hundreds of missile and drone attacks, and the U.S. confirmed the first three deaths of U.S. servicemembers killed in combat on Sunday. Another five have been seriously wounded during the conflict, the U.S. military's Central Command said.
Trump, who announced plans to completely destroy Iran's Navy, said the remaining Iranian warships would soon be sunk.
"They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea," Trump said.
"Other than that, their Navy is doing very well!"
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Paul Simao)
