Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), mentioned on Wednesday that U.S. forces struck virtually 2,000 Iranian targets inside the first hundred hours of Operation Epic Fury.
“Our navy within the Center East is endeavor an unprecedented operation to remove Iran’s means to threaten Individuals, as they’ve been doing for almost half a century,” Cooper mentioned in a video replace posted to social media platform X.
Cooper mentioned the operation concerned greater than “50,000 troops, 200 fighters, two plane carriers, and bombers,” representing “the most important buildup by the U.S. within the Center East in a technology.”
“A lot of chances are you’ll keep in mind the shock and awe of the strikes of 2003. The primary 24 hours of this operation had been actually double the size, and we proceed with 24/7 strikes into Iran from seabed to house and our on-line world,” he mentioned.
The CENTCOM commander defined that the primary section of Operation Epic Fury was centered on “severely diminishing” Iran’s air defenses and ballistic missile launchers. He additionally famous that Iran’s “complete navy” has been eradicated.
“We’ve severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed a whole bunch of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. In easy phrases, we’re centered on capturing all of the issues that may shoot at us,” he mentioned.
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Cooper talked about the deployment of B-52 bombers to assault Iran’s ballistic missile and command infrastructure– a outstanding demonstration of the success of the operation to strip away Iran’s air defenses, for the reason that large and getting older B-52s would have issue working in opposition to trendy anti-aircraft defenses. The primary model of the B-52 entered service in 1952.
“U.S. air forces are doing what they do greatest, executing a excessive quantity of air strikes proper into Iran. Operationally, the 2 strongest air forces on the earth, the U.S. and Israel, are dominating the skies of the world’s largest state sponsor of terror,” he mentioned.
Cooper mentioned U.S. forces would “proceed to conduct dynamic focusing on operations or searching Iran’s final remaining cell ballistic missile launchers,” in an effort to remove what he described as Iran’s “lingering launch functionality.” He famous Iran is utilizing that functionality to intentionally assault civilian targets throughout the Center East.
“To be clear, Iran is indiscriminately focusing on civilians, as they launch these missiles and drones. You’ve seen it on TV, the proof is crystal clear and overwhelming,” he mentioned.
“My general operational evaluation is that we’re forward of our gameplan,” he concluded.
Though there was appreciable media anxiousness about Iran’s missile stock supposedly outlasting the flexibility of U.S. and allied forces to intercept terror launches in opposition to civilian targets, an unnamed Western official advised the Wall Avenue Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday that the amount of Iranian missile launches is steeply declining, and Iran could solely have “a number of extra days of firepower” remaining.
“The enemy can now not shoot the amount of missiles they as soon as did, not even shut. Our air defenses and that of our allies have loads of runway. We will maintain this combat simply for so long as we have to,” Secretary of Warfare Pete Hegseth mentioned on Wednesday.
“We’re accelerating, not decelerating. Iran’s capabilities are evaporating by the hour whereas US energy grows fiercer, smarter, and extra dominant. America is successful, decisively, and with out mercy,” he mentioned.
“Iran’s theater ballistic missile photographs fired down 86% from the primary day of preventing, with a 23% lower simply within the final 24 hours, and their a technique assault drone photographs are down 73% from the opening days,” mentioned Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, showing on the press convention with Hegseth.
