WASHINGTON: More than 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, and two aircraft carriers are taking part in joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran, the head of US Central Command said.
General Brad Cooper said in a video message that the operation — now in its fifth day — marks the largest US military buildup in the Middle East in a generation.
US and Israeli forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets across Iran using more than 2,000 munitions since the campaign began, Cooper said.
Iran has responded with large-scale retaliatory attacks, launching more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones, according to the CENTCOM commander.
“We are also sinking the Iranian Navy, the entire navy. Thus far, we’ve destroyed 17 Iranian ships,” Cooper said.
Despite the retaliation, he said Iran’s ability to strike US forces and their allies was declining as the campaign continued.
Regional tensions have surged since the United States and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Nearly 800 people have been killed in the attacks, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top military officials, according to Iranian authorities.
Tehran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries hosting US military assets.
Six US service members were killed and several others wounded in an Iranian strike on a tactical operations centre in Kuwait during the operation, CENTCOM said.
