The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military, General Dan Caine, stated at a press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday (April 8) that during the 38-day military operation, US joint forces targeted over 13,000 Iranian objectives. 90% of Iran’s weapons factories were attacked, including all factories producing the “Shahed” drones.
Caine emphasized that the most crucial achievement was the destruction of Iran’s defense industrial base.
“We, together with our partners, struck about 90% of their weapons factories,” he said. “All factories producing the ‘Shahed’ single-use attack drones were hit; all factories producing the guidance systems for these drones were hit. Their missile defense industrial base has been destroyed, with over 80% of missile facilities leveled, and the production capacity of solid rocket engines has been decimated.”
The American general further revealed that more than twenty Iranian naval production facilities have been destroyed, and it will take Iran several years to rebuild its surface fleet. Additionally, 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base has also been damaged, significantly reducing Iran’s capability to obtain nuclear weapons.
Caine also mentioned that the US Central Command “destroyed about 80% of Iran’s air defense systems, hitting over 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities, and 800 single-use attack drone storage facilities – all of these systems no longer exist.”
“We destroyed Iran’s command and control and logistics network, targeting over 2,000 command and control nodes, and weakening their ability to strike at the US and its allies,” he added.
Over 90% of Iran’s conventional naval vessels have been destroyed, “including all major surface combat vessels,” with 150 ships “sunk to the seafloor.” 95% of Iran’s naval mines have been cleared.
Caine stressed that it is understandable that low-level Iranian commanders feel frustrated about their current situation without military assets.
“As a low-level Iranian commander trying to conduct operations, their extreme frustration in the current circumstances is something we are all aware of,” he said.
US Secretary of War Hagsees stated during the press conference on Wednesday that during the “Operation Epic Wrath,” the Iranian military was “obsessed with trying to attack US aircraft carriers,” but they “have not even come close to succeeding.”
“Iran launched hundreds of missiles and one-way attack drones at our carriers. They were obsessed with doing so, but they have never come close to succeeding,” Hagsees said.
He added, “Every missile was easily intercepted miles away, far from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. They were simply wasting ammunition.”