CENTCOM: U.S. Has Hit 8,000+ Iranian Targets, Sunk 130 Vessels — Largest Naval Elimination Since WWII

US Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper reported on Saturday, March 21 — the 22nd day of Operation Epic Fury — that American forces have struck more than 8,000 Iranian military targets and destroyed 130 Iranian naval vessels since combat operations began on February 28. He called it “the largest elimination of a navy over three weeks since World War II”. He confirmed that US forces have flown more than 8,000 combat sorties while maintaining air superiority over Iranian skies.

“Their navy is not sailing, their tactical fighters are not flying, and they have lost the ability to launch missiles and drones at the high rates seen at the beginning of the conflict,” Cooper stated, calling US progress “obvious.” He announced that US forces had executed the longest field artillery strike in Army combat history, using precision-guided missiles to destroy Iranian military infrastructure. Earlier in the week, US planes dropped multiple 5,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on hardened Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, taking out underground intelligence support facilities and missile radar relays used to track ship movements.

Cooper said the campaign remains “zeroed in” on dismantling Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and pledged that US forces would “not stop” until that objective is met. He credited Gulf partner nations with defending against thousands of Iranian drone attacks, calling the allied air defense umbrella over the Middle East the most extensive in the world at present. His update came the same evening President Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding Iran reopen the strait or face strikes on its power plants.

(INN/VFI News)