U.S. military strikes 10,000 Iranian military targets… “It’s not over yet”

U.S. Central Command, which is directing the U.S. military operation against Iran, said on the 25th (local time) that it has struck more than 10,000 Iranian military targets in the 26 days since the outbreak of hostilities.

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Brad Cooper posted a video briefing on the battlefield situation on his social media (SNS) account that day, saying, “The operation is proceeding as planned, or ahead of schedule.” The key objective he outlined is to eliminate Iran’s tangible influence exercised beyond its borders.

Gen. Cooper said, “Just a few hours ago, we struck the 10,000th target,” adding, “When combined with Israel’s results, we hit several thousand additional targets.”

He also detailed achievements in the naval domain. “We destroyed 92% of Iran’s large naval vessels,” he said, adding that “the era in which Iranian warships threatened global maritime shipping in regional waters is over.”

He assessed strikes on the defense-production base as also reaching a significant level. Gen. Cooper stressed, “We have damaged or destroyed more than two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone, and naval production facilities and shipyards, and the operation is not over yet.”

“We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s military production facilities,” he added, “and that is why we conclude that while U.S. combat power continues to increase, Iran’s is declining.”

Yonghyun Shin, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com