The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, said that the Pentagon's operation in Iran has struck more than 8,000 targets since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.
In his update, posted on X, Cooper said the campaign has weakened Iran's combat capabilities and paralyzed its naval forces.
He added that the strikes have successfully targeted Iranian missile sites and attack drones.
"Their navy is not sailing, their tactical fighters are not flying, and they have lost the ability to launch missiles and drones at the high rates seen at the beginning of the conflict," the commander said in a video.
The comments come after US President Donald Trump signaled on Friday that the US is "getting very close" to meeting its objectives in the region.
The Trump administration is working to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Cooper noted, adding that US forces have struck 130 Iranian ships as part of "the largest elimination of a navy over a three-week period since World War II."
The US and Iran are engaged in a war for control of the strategic waterway, a narrow channel between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that carries about 20 percent of the world's oil supply.
Commercial shipping traffic has been blocked for weeks due to the de facto blockade imposed as part of Tehran's retaliatory campaign, intensifying fears of prolonged fuel supply disruptions and global inflation.
Increasing attacks in the Persian Gulf, including those on ships and energy infrastructure, have pushed crude oil prices as high as $119 per barrel in recent days.
The Trump administration is also considering plans to escort tankers through the strait, a move that experts say is dangerous, time-consuming and could be costly.
Officials are also reportedly considering sending ground troops to Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf.
Cooper asserted that reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains a key objective in the joint US-Israeli military operation, citing the recent dropping of 5,000 deep-penetrating bombs on an underground Iranian missile base along the coastline.
"We not only destroyed that structure, but we also destroyed the intelligence support sites," he said.
"Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz has been degraded as a result, and we will not stop pursuing these objectives," the Admiral continued.
The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional sailors to the Middle East, even as Trump denied plans to order American service members for a ground invasion.
The president dismissed the possibility of a ceasefire in Iran on Friday, telling reporters that his administration was "not looking to do that."
"There is no ceasefire when the other side is destroyed. They don't have a navy. They don't have an air force," he said.
At least 13 American soldiers have been killed and approximately 232 others wounded since the conflict began on February 28, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. /Telegraph/
