![\"Cooper,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260514_SASC_0180.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\tAdm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, testifies during a Senate Armed Services committee hearing on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne\/Stars and Stripes)
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WASHINGTON \u2014 The head of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Thursday that every military objective in the war against Iran has been met, describing a diminished enemy that nonetheless retains some residual capabilities to strike at troops and American allies in the region. <\/p>\n
Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of Central Command, provided this assessment at his first appearance before Congress since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. He said the mission has now shifted to enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bombing campaign, now in a ceasefire<\/a>, has weakened Iran \u201cacross all measures of national power,\u201d he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said 90% of its defense industrial base has been destroyed and predicted that it would take Tehran a generation to reconstitute its navy to its prewar level.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have significantly degraded their drone, missile and naval capabilities,\u201d he said, naming what he said were the three military objectives of the war. \u201cWe fractured their command and control. We\u2019ve eliminated the large preponderance of their space program.\u201d
<\/p>\n The destruction has \u201cdramatically\u201d diminished Iran\u2019s ability to launch large-scale volleys at surrounding countries in the Persian Gulf, which host numerous American bases. Cooper acknowledged, however, that Iran has \u201ca very moderate, if not small\u201d capability to strike at neighbors and oil infrastructure.
<\/p>\n \u201cWe, of course, have accordingly prepared for such a contingency,\u201d he said.
<\/p>\n Cooper declined to comment on reports that Tehran has retained roughly 70% of its prewar missile stockpile and about 70% of its mobile launchers but said the numbers he had seen in open sources \u201care not accurate.\u201d
<\/p>\n He also said he would not discuss the status of Iran\u2019s nuclear program in a public setting, only confirming that its nuclear breakout time has been set back. The Trump administration has said it went to war to prevent Tehran from having a nuclear weapon.
<\/p>\n Cooper\u2019s testimony came as Democrats on the committee remained skeptical of the war\u2019s strategic goals, pointing to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a vital conduit for oil that has sent fuel prices soaring.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard to say, sitting here with the Strait of Hormuz closed, and every American feeling a deep, deep spike in the price of gas \u2026 that we are overall better off until that strait is opened,\u201d said Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. <\/p>\n Cooper described the situation in the strait as \u201ccomplex\u201d but suggested that Iran\u2019s ability to attack shipping in the waterway is exaggerated. In previous crossings through the strait, Iran would send 20 to 40 fast boats, he said. Lately there have been two or three.
<\/p>\n \u201cBut their voice is very loud,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cAnd those threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and the insurance industry.\u201d
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