Secretary of War Hegseth and CENTCOM Commander Cooper provide update on Operation Epic Fury

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Adm. Brad Cooper gave an update Thursday on how the joint Israeli-American attacks on Iran are proceeding. They stood side by side during a press conference at CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.”In just days of Operation Epic Fury, you and your team have delivered nothing short of devastating, precise strikes taking out the better part of Iran’s navy, making it combat ineffective, neutralizing missile sites and launchers and establishing total dominance over the skies,” Hegseth told Cooper. “Our forces are executing with unmatched skill, and the mission is advancing decisively.”
Cooper went into detail about the growing maritime campaign, according to Fox News.  
“You may have heard the president say, just a little while ago, that we have sunk or destroyed 24 ships. That was true. At the moment, we’re now up over 30 ships,” Cooper said. “In just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. And as we speak, it’s on fire.”
Cooper also discussed how the air operations had sharply reduced Iran’s ability to launch retaliatory attacks by having targeted launchers, command infrastructure and air defenses throughout the country.  
“Ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% since day one. Drone attacks have decreased by 83% since day one,” Cooper said.
Hegseth said that much more firepower is being brought into the region.
“We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively,” Hegseth said. “The amount of combat power that’s still flowing, that’s still coming, that we’ll be able to project over Iran is multiples of what it currently is right now.”
“We’re not just hitting what they have. We’re destroying their ability to rebuild,” Cooper said. “As we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future.”

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