The US military has carried out strikes on more than 8,000 targets in Iran since the war began, according to Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command. He disclosed the figure on March 21 as the conflict entered its fourth week, presenting the campaign as a major effort to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities.
In a brief operational update on Saturday, Cooper said Iran’s combat potential had been significantly reduced. He claimed Tehran had lost 130 vessels and said its naval forces were no longer functioning effectively. According to the admiral, Iran’s tactical fighter aircraft are also no longer flying regularly, while its missile and drone launches have become less frequent than at the start of the war.
At the same time, major questions remain about Washington’s broader objectives in the conflict. The New York Times reported that despite the scale of the bombardment, it is still unclear what the United States ultimately hopes to achieve through the campaign. That uncertainty has drawn attention as the number of strikes continues to rise and the fighting stretches into another week.
Cooper also said the US military had conducted what he described as the longest-range artillery strikes in its history two days earlier, using precision-guided missiles. He said the attack destroyed Iranian military infrastructure and demonstrated the unprecedented reach and destructive power of US armed forces. However, he did not specify the exact distance involved or identify the targets that were hit.
Despite the damage described by US officials, Iran has continued to launch missiles and drones at Israel and at some American partners in the region, according to the New York Times. The report also noted that Tehran has still been able to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, underlining that its capacity to affect regional security has not been eliminated.
The latest statements suggest that while the United States believes it has inflicted serious losses on Iran’s military, the war remains far from settled. Iran appears to retain enough capability to keep up retaliatory attacks and pressure key maritime routes, raising doubts about how quickly the current campaign can produce a decisive outcome.
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