March 4 (UPI) — The U.S. military said it has hit almost 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions since launching its “unprecedented operation to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten Americans” while Iran has fired at least 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones, indiscriminately targeting civilians.
In an operational update posted to X late Tuesday, the commander of American forces in the Middle East, U.S. CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the more than 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, two aircraft carriers and U.S. bomber aircraft taking part, with more assets on their way, brought a “massive amount of firepower” to bear.
He said that in the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, the United States and Israel delivered “overwhelming and unprecedented strikes” at nearly double the scale of those of the first stage of the U.S.-led offensive against Iraq in 2003.
“We’re continuing with 24-7 strikes into Iran from seabed to space and cyberspace. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. In simple terms, we’re focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us,” said Cooper.
He said B-2 and B-1 bombers had carried out “surgical strikes” against missile facilities deep inside Iranian territory without meeting any resistance while conventional B-52 strategic bombers had struck ballistic missile and command and control posts.
Cooper said U.S. forces had sunk the entire Iranian navy — 17 ships — and had holed its “most operational” submarine, bringing to an end decades of harassment of international shipping in the region by the Iranian regime.
“Today there’s not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf [the Persian Gulf], Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman,” he said.
Cooper vowed U.S. forces would not stop there. He said they would continue to conduct dynamic targeting operations to go after Iran’s last remaining mobile ballistic launchers with the aim of destroying what he called its ‘lingering launch capability.”
The admiral’s assessment came at the end of a day that saw a the conflict widen across the region with drone strikes against U.S. embassies in Riyadh and Dubai and Israel mount fresh waves of airstrikes against regime targets in Tehran and deploy troops into southern Lebanon amid Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel.
With oil and gas exports from the Gulf at a standstill after attacks and threats by Tehran to “set fire” to anything that tries to transit the Strait of Hormuz made shipping “uninsurable,” U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. government would underwrite the risks and provide military convoys.
“Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD,” he announced on his Truth Social platform.
Meanwhile, amid domestic wrangling over the justification for the conflict and Trump’s failure to consult Congress before launching operations, Democrats succeeded in bringing a War Powers resolution to the floor that would pause combat operations until Congress gives its approval.
The votes in the Senate on Wednesday evening and in the House on Thursday were unlikely to get anywhere due to the Republican’s 51-47 and 218-214 majorities — but will mark the first formal political debate on the conflict.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he didn’t believe Trump needed to consult Congress and that his actions were not out of line with what other presidents had done in the past.
“The president has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities, the operations that are currently underway there. I think the president is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interests by ensuring that he’s protecting Americans and American bases and installations in that region, as well as those of our allies,” said Thune.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already made it clear he believes forcing a halt in U.S. military operations would be “dangerous.”
“The idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief, the president, take his authority away right now to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me. It’s dangerous. I am certainly hopeful and I believe we do have votes to put it down.”
The 1973 War Powers Act restricts any military engagement that Congress has not authorized to 60 days. It requires the president to consult Congress in “every possible instance” before sending U.S. troops to war. Failing that, he or she must report to Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that no administration of either party had ever accepted the bill as constitutional.
“All that said, we complied with the law 100%, and we’re going to continue to comply with it,” he said.