Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US Central Command, has claimed that American forces were in the process of destroying “the entire Iranian navy” and had already sunk 17 Iranian ships including its most operational submarine.
Admiral Brad Cooper said in a video posted on X that the campaign has struck nearly 2,000 targets using more than 2,000 munitions.
More than 50,000 American troops and over 200 aircrafts including B‑1 and B‑2 bombers are engaged in the operation, he added.
“For decades, Iran has threatened international shipping. Today, there is not a single Iranian vessel operating in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman,” he also said.
Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in response, though its capacity to hit US forces is “declining.” Cooper described the American strikes as precise, uncontested operations designed to eliminate threats to US forces and international shipping lanes.
US Central Command on West Asia War:
US presence
50,000 troops
200 fighter jets
2 aircraft carriers‘largest build up in a generation’pic.twitter.com/jihn1BWO0z
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 4, 2026
The offensive forms part of the wider US-Israel campaign against Iran, which has drawn global attention due to its scale and the potential implications for regional stability.
In his briefing, Admiral Cooper also noted that the strikes carried out on Saturday during the first 24 hours of the conflict nearly doubled the scale of the “shock-and-awe” campaign against Iraq in 2003.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday declared that they have full control over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for global oil and gas shipments, warning that any vessel attempting to cross could face missile or drone attacks, AFP reports.
In a statement carried by Fars news agency, Guards Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh said, “The Strait of Hormuz is now entirely under the authority of the Islamic Republic’s Navy.”
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the US Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the strait if needed, describing it as one of the administration’s most forceful measures yet to curb rising energy prices triggered by the war.
