The US military achieved all of its objectives in Iran in less than 40 days, including significantly degrading its ability to threaten its neighbors and US interests while Tehran’s defense industry has been set back by 90 percent.
“Today, Iran can no longer attack with [its previous] mass and scale,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Adm. Brad Cooper said. “Further, with 90 percent of its defense industrial base destroyed, Iran won’t be able to reconstitute for years,” he added.
In addition to severely degrading Iran’s military power and capabilities, Cooper said the country’s main regional proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis had been cut off from Tehran’s weapons supply and support.
Speaking to lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing, Cooper lauded support from Washington’s Arab and Middle Eastern allies.
He highlighted the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel for their help and their capabilities to defend their own nations.
“But there were a couple” of regional countries that were “less than stellar,” he said, without elaborating.
As the war went on and Iran deployed swarms of cheap but effective drones, Washington turned to Ukraine for help. The US military adopted a “large number of tactics, techniques, and procedures” shared by Ukraine to help defend against such Iranian attacks, the CENTCOM commander said.
When asked about the war itself and threats emanating from Iran, Cooper said the US began to see an increase in Iran’s capability and intent to produce more ballistic missiles last November and December. This presented a “very significant risk both to partners and ourselves,” he said.
Cooper also took the opportunity to remind lawmakers and the public of Iran’s track record against the US. “Iran’s hostile, lethal track record against the US is well documented. But I don’t know that it is well understood. In 30 months prior to Epic Fury, Iranian-supported terror groups attacked US troops and diplomats more than 350 times,” he said.
He was asked about recent reports that Iran currently has between 70 and 75 percent of its missiles and launchers available. Without getting into specifics, Cooper said these numbers were not accurate.
Alarabiya News
