WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Admiral Brad Cooper said U.S. forces and regional partners control the Strait of Hormuz, which remains open to commercial shipping.
  • About 400 merchant ships crossed the corridor in seven days, while Gulf partners shipped more than 100 million barrels of crude oil.
  • Cooper said American pressure has damaged Iran’s oil exports, digital financing, security payroll, weapons production, and missile and drone capabilities.
  • Reports cited by Cooper indicate the IRGC and militia groups aligned with Iran are struggling to pay their troops.

The head of U.S. Central Command delivered a grim assessment for Iran on Friday, describing an Islamic Republic battered militarily, squeezed financially, and unable to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper said American forces and regional partners continue to control the crucial shipping corridor.

Cooper’s update followed Operation Epic Fury, the major combat campaign that began in February and lasted 38 days. According to the CENTCOM commander, the operation inflicted severe damage on Iran’s military and its ability to project force beyond its borders.

“When U.S. forces conducted major combat operations during Epic Fury earlier this year, we significantly degraded Iran's ability to project power far beyond its borders. We sank Iran's Navy, we destroyed its weapons factories, and we curtailed the IRGC's ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones.”

Iran has continued launching attacks and issuing fiery rhetoric, but Cooper said those moves have not changed the basic reality in the Strait of Hormuz. American forces and their regional partners remain in charge of the strategically important waterway.

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“Let me be clear. The Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran — and it remains open for business.”

About 400 merchant ships traveled through the stream during the previous seven days, Cooper reported. U.S. forces also assisted Gulf partners with shipping more than 100 million barrels of crude oil through the corridor during that period.

That weekly volume added to the more than $1.3 billion barrels of crude that American forces have helped regional allies ship through the Strait in recent months. Cooper also said an “ironclad naval blockade that remains in place.”

The commander said American pressure is focused on three major categories affecting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Those areas are Iran’s oil exports, digital financing, and the payroll used for security forces.

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“The sum total of these actions has imposed devastating costs on Iran's security apparatus, and the IRGC specifically. In recent months, CENTCOM, in close coordination with U.S. interagency partners, has delivered severe blows to the Islamic regime and IRGC in three important areas.”

Cooper said the accumulated pressure is now being felt across sectors of Iran’s economy. The government is withholding salaries, pensions, and benefits owed to workers in oil, energy, manufacturing, construction, security, and the IRGC itself.

“The compounding effect of America's pressure on Iran is being felt across all sectors of their economy. Iran's government is withholding salaries, pensions, and benefits to workers in industries such as oil and energy, manufacturing, construction, security, and the IRGC itself.”

The financial strain has reportedly reached Iran’s military network across the region. Cooper cited reports that militia groups aligned with Iran are withholding payments to their soldiers as they attempt to trace money back to the IRGC, which is also failing to pay its troops.

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“The financial strain on Iran's military has become so significant that there are reports of Iran-aligned militia groups across the region withholding payments to their soldiers in order to follow money back to the IRGC, which also is not paying its troops.”

Cooper characterized the Islamic regime as increasingly desperate under the economic pressure. At the same time, he said the IRGC has continued attacking merchant vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Islamic regime is clearly feeling the economic pain, and the IRGC is increasingly showing signs of greater desperation as a result. In recent days and months, we've seen the IRGC continually attack merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and in many cases kill innocent civilian Americans.”

Despite the military and financial punishment imposed by the United States, the Iranian regime has continued to survive. Still, Cooper’s account depicts an IRGC facing damaged military capabilities, disrupted financing, pressure on oil exports, and serious difficulty meeting its own payroll.

The update presents a stark contrast between Iran’s rhetoric and conditions described by the CENTCOM commander. Merchant vessels and crude oil continue moving through the Strait while Tehran’s security apparatus faces mounting financial pain and reports that troops are going unpaid.

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