Middle East
CENTCOM commander gives video update as war enters fourth week
Stars and Stripes
March 21, 2026
An image of an Iranian target struck by U.S. Central Command, which the command included in a video update on Operation Epic Fury posted on X on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (U.S. Central Command)
U.S. forces have struck over 8,000 Iranian targets, including 130 vessels, as of the 22nd day of combat operations against Iran, said Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, in a video message posted Saturday on X.
The destruction of Iranian ships constitutes “the largest elimination of a navy over a three-week period since World War II,” Cooper said in the video.
Cooper said the U.S. maintains air superiority over Iran, having flown over 8,000 combat flights. He also touted the recent launching of “the longest field artillery strike in Army combat history.”
The video emphasized the efficacy of U.S. and allied air defenses and efforts to secure free transit through the Strait of Hormuz, with Cooper noting the use of 5,000 pound bombs earlier this week to strike missile sites along Iran’s coastline.
The video update, which Cooper has been making regularly, came after the Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at a joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean.
Neither of the missiles hit the strategic Diego Garcia base — a hub for long-range U.S. bombers, warships and submarines — that is some 2,500 miles from Iran. But the incident marked Iran’s first operational use of a ballistic missile at that range, which suggests its missiles have a greater range than Tehran has previously acknowledged.
While the U.S. generally doesn’t detail where specific strike missions are launched from, many analysts say Diego Garcia has likely factored into ongoing operations against Iran.
Meanwhile, the United Nation’s nuclear agency on Saturday said it had been informed by Iran that its Natanz nuclear site was attacked but that no increase in radiation levels off-site were detected. The agency’s director general reiterated his call for military restraint to avoid a nuclear incident.
An additional 2,500 U.S. Marines and three ships are headed to the region, even as President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration was considering “winding down” the military effort.
Stars and Stripes reporters John Vandiver and Matthew Adams contributed to this report.