Tampa (Florida): The United States’ ongoing military campaign, Operation Epic Fury, entered its fourth day with intensified strikes on Iranian targets, even as Tehran continued retaliatory attacks on US assets across the Gulf region.

Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday (local time), Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of the United States Central Command, asserted that Washington’s offensive would continue and claimed that Iran’s capacity to respond was rapidly diminishing.

“Now, we’re less than 100 hours into this operation, and we’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defences and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers, and drones. In simple terms, we’re focused on shooting all the things that can shoot at us. Our B-2 bombers and B-1 bombers have executed uncontested surgical strikes against multiple missile facilities deep inside Iran. And then just last night, a B-52 bomber force struck ballistic missile and command and control posts,” he said.

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Admiral Cooper further stated that Iranian naval operations in the region had effectively ceased.

“We are also sinking the Iranian Navy–the entire navy. Thus far, we’ve destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine, that now has a hole in its side. For decades, the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping. Today, there’s not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman. And we will not stop. We will continue to conduct dynamic targeting operations. We’re hunting Iran’s last remaining mobile ballistic missile launchers to eliminate what I would characterise as their lingering launch capability,” he said.

He also claimed the US military was ahead of its operational goals while Iran’s retaliatory strength was weakening.

“In retaliation, the Iranian regime has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones. To be clear, Iran is indiscriminately targeting civilians as they launch these missiles and drones. You’ve seen it on TV; the evidence is crystal clear and overwhelming. Having said this, we are seeing Iran’s ability to hit us, and our partners, is declining, while our combat power, on the other hand, is building. And my overall operational assessment is that we are ahead of our game plan. Along the way, every single branch of our military is achieving unprecedented success.”

Admiral Cooper highlighted coordination between US and Israeli forces, stating that aerial dominance had been established.

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“U.S. Air Forces are doing what they do best: executing a high volume of air strikes right into Iran. Operationally, the two most powerful air forces in the world, the U.S. and Israel, are dominating the skies over the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. Also, for the first time, U.S. Central Command’s drone task force, called Task Force Scorpion Strike, launched countless one-way attack drones, achieving massive effects. Our military objectives are crystal clear, and our people are executing an immensely complex and historic mission with relentless lethality, conviction, and professionalism. And we’ve just begun. But I have the utmost confidence that we, alongside our partners, will absolutely achieve our military objectives,” he added.

Despite these assertions, Iranian counter-strikes reportedly continued. According to Fox News, citing a source, a CIA station located inside the US Embassy compound in Riyadh was hit in a drone attack. Two drones caused structural damage and smoke inside the compound. Officials reported no immediate injuries.

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Earlier, a fire that broke out near the US Consulate General in Dubai late Tuesday night, following a suspected drone strike, was fully extinguished. Authorities confirmed that emergency teams responded swiftly and no injuries were reported.

The conflict has escalated sharply following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other senior figures. In response, Tehran launched counterattacks targeting American military bases and Israeli assets across the region. 

Trump says no more talks

US president Donal Trump insisted that Iran wanted to resume talks but it was "too late".

He also walked back a statement the day before from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the US attack's timing was precipitated by Israel's plans.

"If anything, I might have forced Israel's hand," Trump said as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.

Trump boasted that "just about everything's been knocked out" in Iran, including its navy, air force and air detection, and said the attacks had killed even leaders who could have taken over.

"Most of the people we had in mind are dead," Trump said. "Now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports."

According to Iranian media, US and Israeli strikes targeted a building on Tuesday in the holy city of Qom belonging to the committee that is to elect a new supreme leader. The Tasnim news agency reported that strikes had already targeted the body's main headquarters in Tehran the day before.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have urged Iranians to rise up but Trump said regime change was not the goal.

The assault came weeks after Iranian authorities clamped down on mass protests, killing thousands.