U.S. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on “The Posture of the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Africa Command in Review” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Kevin Lamarque<\/p>\n
U.S. Admiral Says Operation EPIC FURY Rolled Back \u201840 Years\u2019 of Iranian Military Investment<\/p>\n
Brad Cooper of U.S. Central Command on Thursday delivered the most sweeping public assessment yet of the damage inflicted on Iran during Operation EPIC FURY, telling lawmakers the 38-day U.S.-Israeli campaign effectively dismantled much of Tehran\u2019s ability to project military power across the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the commander of CENTCOM claimed the operation destroyed or severely degraded the backbone of Iran\u2019s missile, drone, naval, and air defense infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn short: in 38 days, we rolled back 40 years of Iranian military investment,\u201d Cooper said in prepared testimony.<\/p>\n
According to the testimony, U.S. and Israeli forces conducted more than 10,200 sorties and over 13,500 strikes targeting what Cooper described as \u201cthe full breadth\u201d of Iran\u2019s military power projection network.<\/p>\n
Cooper said the campaign damaged or destroyed more than 85% of Iran\u2019s ballistic missile, drone, and naval defense industrial base through a massive strike campaign targeting weapons factories, missile storage facilities, drone launch sites, air defense systems, and naval infrastructure. He said more than 1,450 strikes hit weapons manufacturing facilities alone, while hundreds more targeted ballistic missile systems and drone-launching units.<\/p>\n
The maritime dimension of the campaign featured prominently throughout the testimony.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt sea, we destroyed 161 vessels in total across 16 classes of warships, effectively crippling the regime\u2019s ability to operate,\u201d Cooper testified. \u201cIran\u2019s navy can no longer claim to be a maritime power.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cooper also said U.S. forces destroyed more than 90% of Iran\u2019s inventory of over 8,000 naval mines through more than 700 strikes on mine-related targets, a key point given the ongoing crisis surrounding commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
In the air domain, Cooper claimed Iranian air power had effectively ceased functioning. Before the conflict, he said Iran\u2019s air force routinely flew between 30 and 100 sorties per day. \u201cToday that number is zero,\u201d he testified, adding that U.S. and Israeli strikes destroyed or rendered non-mission-capable major airfields, fuel depots, hangars, munitions stockpiles, and 82% of Iran\u2019s air defense missile systems.<\/p>\n
Despite the scale of the claims, Cooper acknowledged Iran still retains what he described as \u201cnuisance capability,\u201d including low-end drone attacks, harassment operations, rockets, and residual proxy support.<\/p>\n
The testimony also confirmed the United States continues enforcing the maritime blockade against Iran initiated during the conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs of this submission, United States air and naval forces continue to enforce the Presidentially directed blockade against Iranian ports and merchant vessels while enabling neutral vessels to transit,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n
Separately, CENTCOM said as of Thursday its forces have redirected 70 commercial vessels and disabled 4 to ensure compliance.<\/p>\n
The remarks come as commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily disrupted months after the start of the conflict. Maritime security threats, vessel seizures, mine concerns, military escort operations, and insurance instability continue to complicate traffic through one of the world\u2019s most strategically important waterways.<\/p>\n
Cooper also used the hearing to highlight what CENTCOM views as major operational lessons from the conflict, particularly the growing role of integrated air defense networks and low-cost drones.<\/p>\n
According to the testimony, the U.S.-led Middle East Air Defense network intercepted more than 6,000 one-way attack drones and over 1,500 ballistic missiles during Operation EPIC FURY.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Cooper described the operation as the first combat use of U.S. Group 3 one-way attack drones, calling them \u201ccheap and lethal drones\u201d capable of dramatically shifting the economics of modern warfare.<\/p>\n
The testimony framed the campaign not as a temporary military operation, but as part of a broader effort to permanently reshape the regional security balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cUSCENTCOM assesses that Iran can no longer project power across the region, nor pose the persistent threat to the United States or our partners that it did prior to Operation EPIC FURY,\u201d Cooper testified.<\/p>\n
Still, Cooper warned Iran would likely attempt to rebuild portions of its military capabilities over time, adding that sustained enforcement and vigilance would be necessary to prevent Tehran from reconstituting its forces.<\/p>\n