The U.S. Department of War published a message on social media platform X on Wednesday, stating that Operation Epic Fury has "decimated" Iran's military capacity, on the 19th day of an unprecedented military offensive launched on February 28 under direct orders from President Donald Trump.
The statement, which has garnered nearly a million views, includes a video in which Admiral Charles Bradford Cooper II emphasizes that aviators from the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps have collectively completed over 6,000 combat flights.
"We maintain air superiority over Iranian airspace," stated the U.S. Navy official, adding that the objectives of the operation include eliminating ballistic missiles, drones, and naval threats from Iran, destroying its missile production facilities, and preventing the regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The text of the official statement was straightforward: "We are executing President Trump's orders with speed and precision. The Epic Fury Operation has decimated the Iranian army."
The offensive, coordinated with Israel—which is concurrently carrying out Operation Roaring Lion—attacked more than 1,000 targets in its first 24 hours, including nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, air defenses, and units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
On March 13, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reported that 15,000 Iranian targets had been struck, with a 90% reduction in ballistic missile attacks and a 95% reduction in single-use drone attacks.
The Iranian military landscape, according to official U.S. sources, is one of severe degradation: its air defense systems have been destroyed, its air force is virtually eliminated, and its navy in the Persian Gulf has been annihilated, with more than 90 ships damaged or destroyed, including a submarine sunk by torpedo in the first such incident since World War II.
On March 14, the bombing of Kharg Island —which handles 90% of Iran's crude oil exports— was described as "one of the most powerful in the history of the Middle East".
The Iranian chain of command has also suffered devastating blows. The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei died in the early days of the operation, along with the Chief of Staff Abdorrahim Musavi, the Minister of Defense Aziz Nasirzadeh, and other high-ranking officials. This Wednesday, Israel also announced the elimination of the Iranian Minister of Intelligence Esmail Jatib.
The human cost for the United States includes at least 12 military personnel dead: 6 Army soldiers who lost their lives due to Iranian drone attacks in Kuwait between March 1 and March 3, and 6 Air Force aviators who died in a KC-135 accident over Iraq on March 12. Approximately 140 military personnel were injured.
The admiral Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM, summarized the situation this way: "The combat power of the U.S. is growing; the combat power of Iran is declining." President Trump stated last Monday that the Iranian military is "decimated" and that its reconstruction would take "ten years or more."
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