The top commander of U.S. Central Command said operations against Iran were “ongoing or planned” as the Israeli military began what it called a “large-scale strike targeting the infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime” early on Monday.
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper gave his first one-on-one interview about the war to Persian-language satellite network Iran International, which aired early Monday. Iranian media reported a new round of air strikes targeting Tehran but did not disclose the location of the strikes.
A day earlier, Tehran warned that it could attack U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets if Israel or the U.S. tried to make good on President Donald Trump’s threat that the U.S. would “destroy” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully opened.
Trump, who faces growing pressure at home to secure the strait as oil prices soar, issued the ultimatum on social media while spending the weekend at his home in Florida.
The death toll caused by the war has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 people in Israel, 13 people in the US military, as well as a large number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people have been displaced in Lebanon and Iran.
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Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said Iran was “displaying desperate actions”
The head of the U.S. military’s Central Command said that Iran’s targeting of civilian sites during the war was a “show of desperation.”
“Their actions show signs of desperation… In the past few weeks, they have very deliberately attacked civilian targets more than 300 times,” U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper said in an interview with the Persian-language satellite network “Iran International” earlier on Monday.
Cooper also noted that Iran’s firepower across the Middle East has slowed as the war enters its fourth week.
“When the conflict started, you saw dozens of drones and missiles,” Cooper said.
“You don’t see this anymore. It’s just one or two at a time.”
U.S. Central Command leader says campaign “is ongoing or being planned”
The top commander of the U.S. Central Command said that U.S. actions against Iran are “in progress or being planned.”
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper gave his first one-on-one interview about the war to Persian-language satellite network Iran International, which aired early Monday.
Cooper said Iran’s continued attacks on Gulf Arab states and the wider Middle East put civilians at risk.
The United States and Israel are also targeting missile and drone manufacturing sites, he added.
“We’re also pursuing manufacturing,” he said. “So it’s not just the threats of today. We’re eliminating the threats of the future, whether it’s drones, missiles or naval forces.”
Cooper also said it was not the time for the Iranian public to take to the streets, even though both Israel and the United States have said they want the Iranian public to overthrow the country’s theocracy through attacks.
“They are launching missiles and drones from populated areas, and you need to stay indoors right now,” Cooper said. “As the president has said, at some point there will be a clear signal that you can come out.”
