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By Peter Aitken
Politics Weekend Editor
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The U.S. military on Saturday published an update through Central Command (CENTCOM) detailing the greater scope of Operation Epic Fury's damage to Iran and its forces since the war started on February 28.
CENTCOM has issued regular updates throughout the conflict, with the last update issued on March 23. The most recent update indicates that the U.S. hit over 2,000 targets and destroyed 10 more Iranian vessels, a more significant escalation compared to the previous update, which saw around 1,200 targets hit, although the U.S. reported sinking 20 Iranian vessels in that previous update.
Why It Matters
The Iran war has lasted nearly a month following joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials in the country.
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Throughout the conflict, the U.S. has provided updates on injuries and fatalities suffered by American forces, but the full picture of damage to Iran and its forces has remained vague due to the strict control of information flowing from the country, which remains under a nationwide internet blackout.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have broadly described the success of Operation Epic Fury by declaring America and Israel have "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program or "decimated" Iran's military.
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has provided occasional updates, including the number of Iranian vessels or percentage of missile and drone launchers destroyed.
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What To Know
CENTCOM in its Saturday update reported that over 11,000 targets have been struck, including damage to or the destruction of over 150 Iranian vessels, over double the number destroyed within the first weeks, according to estimates by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in its 2026 annual assessment of global military capabilities listed Iran's fleet as including 18 submarines, 70 patrol and coastal combatants, 23 amphibious vessels, 17 boats designated for logistics and support, one mine warfare and countermeasure vessels, and "a substantial number of patrol boats." This is separate from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s 133 patrol and coastal combatants, five amphibious vessels, and six logistics and support vessels.
CENTCOM also revealed the types of targets the U.S. military has hit, which includes:
- Command and control centers
- IRGC headquarters buildings
- IRGC intelligence sites
- Integrated air defense systems
- Ballistic missile sites
- Iranian Navy ships and submarines
- Iranian air defense systems
- Anti-ship missile sites
- Military communication capabilities
- Ballistic missile and drone manufacturing
- Weapons production and storage bunkers
- Surface-to-Air missile facilities
- Military support infrastructure
In the CENTCOM March 12 update, the report indicated that the U.S. had hit 6,000 targets and damaged or destroyed over 60 Iranian vessels.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting this week: "I read a story today that I'm desperate to make a deal. I'm not. I'm the opposite of desperate, I don't care ... In fact, we have other targets we want to hit before we leave. We’re hitting them on a daily basis."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting this week: "Never in history has a modern military ... been so rapidly and historically obliterated, defeated, from day one, with overwhelming firepower ... We wiped it off the face of the earth, and then it was defeated."
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