US Central Command chief evaluates progress of military operation against Iran

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper has said that America has struck nearly 200 targets inside Iran over the past 72 hours and significantly degraded Tehran's missile and drone attack capabilities, adding that they are now working to dismantle Iran's missile production infrastructure, Report informs via The Tribune.

Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Cooper detailed the scale of the ongoing military operation titled 'Operation Epic Fury' targeting Iranian missile launchers and infrastructure.

"In just the last 72 hours, America's bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran. In just the last hour, US B-2 Spirit bombers dropped dozens of 2,000lb Penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers," Cooper said.

He said the strikes have sharply reduced the scale of Iranian retaliatory attacks since the operation began. "If I just look back over the last 24 hours of the operation compared to where we were to start, ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90 percent...drone attacks have decreased by 83 percent... we're now up over 30 ships [destroyed]," he added.

Cooper also said the 'Operation Epic Fury' has expanded beyond immediate strikes to targeting the long-term capacity of Iran's missile programme, following instructions from US President Donald Trump.

"President Trump gave us another task to raze or level Iran's ballistic missile industrial base," he said.

"We're not just hitting what they have, we're destroying their ability to rebuild. We will systemically dismantle Iran's missile production capability for the future, and that's absolutely in progress," Cooper added.