By Armando Hernandez
The United States Army assured this Thursday that Iran’s military capacity has degraded by 90% after the joint offensive by Washington and Tel Aviv, although he warned that Tehran still retains the capacity to threaten its neighbors and destabilize the Middle East.
During a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the commander of the United States Central Command (Centcom), Admiral Brad Cooper, stated that Iranian military infrastructure suffered “significant” damage since the start of the bombings on February 28.
“Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors and US interests has been dramatically degraded”Cooper declared before US lawmakers.
.@CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper: “[Iran’s] functionality has been considerably degraded. If I staunch exercise my bear skilled experience, in 100 transits thru the Strait of Hormuz, you might generally stare 20-40 speedily-boats; as of late, we bear viewed two or three.” @centcomcdr pic.twitter.com/8pWaMFpKQ9
— Speedily Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) Would possibly perchance perchance 14, 2026
The military chief maintained that the attacks destroyed “90% of its imperfect defense industry,” including facilities linked to drones, missiles and naval capabilities, which would delay any attempt at Iranian military reconstruction for years.
Nevertheless, Cooper warned that Iran “remains a very large country” and maintains “a moderate or small capacity” to attack energy infrastructure and regional targets, especially in the Persian Gulf.
The statements come in the midst of a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran, a month after the ceasefire reached after weeks of direct confrontations. The conflict raised tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil circulates.
Despite the optimism expressed by the Pentagon, Some intelligence reports leaked to US media indicate that Iran would still retain an important part of its arsenal of missiles and mobile launchers hidden in underground facilities. The admiral avoided confirming these versions and assured that “the data published in open sources is not accurate.”
Analysts consider that, although the offensive significantly weakened Iranian conventional capacity, Tehran still maintains tools of regional pressure through asymmetric attacks, drones and allied militias in the Middle East.
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