CENTCOM chief: US combat power is building, Iranian combat power is declining

Chief of the US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, says the American military has struck over 5,500 targets in Iran since the start of the war and notes that Iranian attacks have continued to decline.

“US combat power is building, Iranian combat power is declining, and we remain centered on very clear military objectives in eliminating Iran’s ability to project power against Americans and against its neighbors,” Cooper says in a video statement.

“Since the first 24 hours of this campaign, Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks have dropped drastically. But it’s worth pointing out that Iranian forces continue to deliberately target innocent civilians in Gulf countries while hiding behind their own people as they launch attacks from highly populated cities in Iran,” he says.

Cooper says that “every day, we’re striking hard at Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships using a variety of precision weapon systems.”

“Just yesterday, we had strike waves nearly every hour from different locations and directions going into Iran,” he says.

Cooper says that American strikes also destroyed the last of four Soleimani-class warships of the Iranian Navy. “That’s an entire class of Iranian ships now out of the fight.”

He also notes that heavy bombers “hit a large ballistic missile manufacturing facility” in Iran last night.