U.S. Military Commander in the Middle East: Military Actions Against Iran Have "Just Begun," Nearly 2,000 Iranian Targets Struck

[Global Network Report, Reporter Li Ziyu] According to the Associated Press, the highest-ranking military commander in the Middle East, U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper, stated in a video speech on the 3rd local time that military actions against Iran have "just begun." He noted that since the start of military actions against Iran, the U.S. military has struck nearly 2,000 Iranian targets.

The report quoted Cooper as saying that the U.S. military has "severely weakened Iran's air defense capabilities" and destroyed hundreds of ballistic missiles, launch systems, and drones. Cooper mentioned that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones in retaliation. He also stated that the U.S. is "hunting" the remaining mobile ballistic missile launch systems of Iran to eliminate its "residual launch capability."

The report indicated that Cooper stated that over 50,000 U.S. soldiers, 200 fighter jets, two aircraft carriers, and related bombers are participating in this operation, and "more (combat) capabilities are on the way." "We have just begun," Cooper added.

On February 28, the U.S. and Israel suddenly launched a large-scale attack on Iran, resulting in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei. Subsequently, Iran retaliated against U.S. military bases in the Middle East and Israeli targets. International organizations such as the United Nations, as well as leaders and governments of multiple countries, condemned the U.S.-Israeli military actions and called for all parties to return to dialogue to avoid further escalation of the situation. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei stated on March 3 that Iran is moving towards the negotiating table with good intentions and has repeatedly emphasized its position of not developing nuclear weapons, but Iran is still facing aggression from the U.S. and Israel. The Iranian armed forces and people vow to do their utmost in this "battle for survival."

As of local time March 4, the military strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran have entered their fifth day. The U.S. military stated on the 3rd that since the military actions against Iran began on February 28, the U.S. military has conducted over 1,700 strikes on targets within Iran. On the same day, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it has launched the 16th round of "Real Commitment 4" operations, utilizing a large number of missiles and drones to strike targets within Israel.