ISTANBUL

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said Monday that US forces will continue efforts to “rapidly deplete Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz.”

"We continue to remain centered on our military objectives. These are well-defined and include eliminating Iran's ballistic missiles, drones and naval threats," CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said, adding: "It's one thing to defend by striking launchers and intercepting missiles and drones, but it's another thing to eliminate the wider manufacturing apparatus behind them. And we are doing that today."

Speaking in a video shared on CENTCOM’s official account on the US social media platform X, Cooper provided an update on Operation Epic Fury, saying US forces carried out a “large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island,” destroying “more than 90 Iranian military targets.”

Cooper added that US and allied strikes are aimed at achieving “clear military objectives” to weaken Iran’s ability to project power across the region, while addressing what he described as Tehran’s long-standing threat to commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

He said American air operations have involved more than 6,000 combat sorties by Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aviators, highlighting the joint force’s sustained “air superiority over Iranian skies.”

The admiral also presented what he said were before-and-after images of targeted Iranian military sites, including a naval drone storage facility near the Strait of Hormuz, an attack drone production factory in Tehran, and a military depot linked to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missile infrastructure.

He added that joint air, land and maritime operations have "successfully destroyed over 100 Iranian naval vessels" and stressed “we aren’t done.”

Cooper accused Iran of carrying out more than 300 attacks across the region over the past two weeks, saying the attacks “demonstrate their true nature as a global leader of terror.”

The video statement also condemned what it described as a recent strike on civilian neighborhoods in Tel Aviv using cluster munitions, adding that regional partners were working together to strengthen defenses.

The Strait of Hormuz has been at the center of energy market concerns since the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced restrictions on most vessels amid US-Israeli attacks against Iran that began on Feb. 28. Before the war, around 20 million barrels of oil passed through the strait daily and its disruption has pushed up oil prices.

US-Israeli attacks on Iran have so far killed around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.