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US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine said on Tuesday that Washington continues to systematically degrade and destroy Tehran's ability to project power and threaten stability beyond its borders. With the conflict in West Asia in its second month now, he said that the US has struck over 11,000 targets in Iran.
Gen Caine made the remarks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, while joined by US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. Sharing operational updates of Epic Fury, he said that the joint force continues to destroy Iran's ballistic missile and UAS capabilities. Noting that the US continues to strike key Iranian manufacturing nodes, component storage sites, and research facilities, he said, "Over the past 30 days, we've struck more than 11,000 targets." Gen Caine added that the US continues to assert dominance over the Iranian navy and added that the country's mine-laying capabilities and naval assets have been targeted. "We've taken out more than 150 ships, including all Jamaran class frigates inside their navy... We continue to prosecute our campaign against their defence industrial base at scale. This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons R&D labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability." "We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs" and added that the efforts continue around the clock from air, sea, land, space and cyberspace. He also hinted at Iran coming to the diplomatic table, saying that the country stands at a pressure point as of now. Answering a media query, Gen Caine said, "Iran should note- they are out there at a pressure point. So they should carefully consider at the diplomatic level to what is in front of them". Speaking at the briefing, Hegseth said that the upcoming days will be decisive and that Iran can do "nothing about it militarily". The development comes amid the escalating tensions and conflict that began on February 28 with the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel. Iran, in its retaliation, targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries and Israel, causing disruption in the waterway and affecting international energy markets and global economic stability. Strikes have impacted civilian, military and energy infrastructure in West Asia and the Gulf region. The latest briefing comes after Gen Caine and Hegseth held their last public briefing about the conflict in West Asia earlier on March 19. (ANI)
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