The US military commander in the Middle East says that American forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets so far in Iran as part of the largest firepower buildup in the region in a generation.
“We’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,” Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command says in a video message.
He adds that the US has destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including a submarine. “Today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman.”
According to Cooper, “the first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale” of the first day of shock-and-awe strikes on Iraq in 2003, “and we continue with 24/7 strikes into Iran.”
Cooper also reveals that Iran has so far launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in retaliatory attacks against American targets, Israel and US-allied Arab states in the region.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2026
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