WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- The war in Iran has "severely degraded" the Iranian regime's military, the commander of U.S. military operations in the Middle East told lawmakers Thursday, flatly rejecting reports that most of Iran's missile stockpiles and launchers remained functional.
In his testimony before the Armed Services Committee, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, contradicted recent reports that internal intelligence assessments given to senior U.S. officials showed that Iran retained most of its prewar missile capacity.
"For 47 years, the Iranian regime has terrorized the region," Cooper said. "In less than 40 days, Central Command achieved our military objectives."
Central Command directs military operations in the Middle East, where more than 50,000 U.S. service members await the possible resumption of the war. Central Command also oversees the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports.
During the six-week war, Central Command forces struck more than 13,000 targets, including legions of Iranian military and intelligence sites. Despite battlefield successes, Cooper's testimony arrived amid heightened bipartisan frustration over the growing cost of the conflict and the United States' inability to extricate itself from it.
