US Military Campaign Degrades Iran's Armed Forces: Over 6,000 Targets Struck

WASHINGTON: The US said Friday that its military campaign against Iran had sharply degraded Tehran's armed forces, with more than 6,000 targets struck and Iranian naval power rendered "combat ineffective" as the conflict entered its 13th day.

At a Pentagon news conference, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said American forces were intensifying operations under what officials described as Operation Epic Fury, targeting Iran's missile infrastructure, naval assets, and defence industrial base.

"This morning, we enter the 13th day of Operation Epic Fury, and we continue to make progress toward our military objectives," Caine told reporters.

The U.S. military has carried out a sustained air and missile campaign across Iran, striking military facilities, production centres, and launch systems that officials say enable Tehran to threaten American forces, regional partners, and commercial shipping.

"We've attacked over 6,000 targets, and our strike packages continue to launch every hour," Caine said. "Centcom is now persistently over the enemy."

According to the Pentagon, the campaign has significantly reduced Iran's ability to conduct military operations.

"As Admiral Cooper said in his update on Wednesday, Iranian combat power continues to decline as a result of the continued strikes," Caine said. He added that American forces had inflicted major damage on Iran's naval capabilities.

"In less than two weeks, we've rendered the Iranian Navy combat ineffective and continue to attack naval vessels," he said, including ships armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft weapons.

U.S. officials said the military campaign was designed to dismantle Iran's capacity to threaten maritime traffic and project power in the region.  "Our bases or our partners there are continuing to destroy the Iranian Navy," Caine said. (IANS)

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