US CENTCOM Commander Says US Attack on Iran Is Faster Than Schedule

US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper. (Wikimedia Commons/DoD/Benjamin Applebaum)

JAKARTA - The top commander of the United States military in the Middle East said the progress of the attack on Iran was faster than schedule, as Israel and the US targeted locations in the country's interior, and Iran carried out attacks around the Gulf.

The commander of US Central Command (US CENTCOM) which leads US forces in the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, said the first 24 hours of the Iranian bombing in 'Operation Epic Fury' "almost doubled in scale" compared to the first 24 hours of the 'Shock and Awe' campaign that opened the Iraq War in 2003.

"We see that Iran's ability to attack us, and our partners, is declining, while our combat power, on the other hand, is increasing," Admiral Cooper said, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (4/3).

"My overall operational assessment is that we are ahead of our game plan," he said.

Furthermore, Admiral Cooper said that Iran's air defense has been greatly degraded, its navy has no operational ships in major waterways after 17 ships were sunk, and more than 2,000 Iranian targets have been hit.

About 50,000 US troops are taking part in the operation, and "more capabilities" are on the way, he said.

It is known that the US and Iran held "Operation Epic Furry" version of Washington or "Operation Roaring Lion" version of Tel Aviv on Saturday, quoted from ABC.

The attack left hundreds of people dead in Iran, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a number of senior Tehran officials.

A source familiar with Israel's war plans told Reuters the campaign was planned to last two weeks and was going faster than expected, with early success in killing Iranian leaders - including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening strike on Saturday.

The five-day war continues to shake global markets, as the aviation and tourism industries struggle to cope with more than 20,000 flight cancellations and governments rush to repatriate stranded travelers in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US' initial projection was that the operation would last four to five weeks.