‘Most Intense Day Of Strikes’ Yet In Iran, Pentagon Says; U.S. Has Hit 5,000 Targets To Date

U.S. forces have struck more than 5,000 targets inside Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury while significantly degrading the country’s missile and drone capabilities, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine delivered the update during a March 10 press briefing at the Department of War.

The operation entered its tenth day as U.S. forces continue targeting Iranian missile infrastructure, naval assets, and military production sites.

Hegseth outlined the campaign’s objectives.

“Destroy their missile stockpiles, their missile launchers and their defense industrial base; missiles and their ability to make them. Two: destroy their Navy. And three: permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever,” Hegseth said.

He described the operation as “a laser focused, maximum authority mission delivered with overwhelming and unrelenting precision, no hesitation, no half measures.”

Missile And Drone Attacks Falling

Caine said Iranian missile and drone attacks have sharply declined since the operation began.

“Ballistic missile attacks continue to trend downward 90 percent from where they started, and one-way attack drones have decreased 83 percent since the beginning of the operation,” Caine said.

U.S. forces have attacked missile launch sites, drone factories, and command infrastructure across Iran’s southern flank.

“To date, they’ve struck more than 5,000 targets,” Caine said.

He added that U.S. Strategic Command bombers recently dropped “dozens of 2,000-pound GPS penetrating weapons on deeply buried missile launchers.”

Iranian Naval Losses Mount

Caine said U.S. forces have also destroyed numerous Iranian naval vessels.

“We’re more than 50 Iranian naval ships into the campaign using a combination of artillery, fighters, bombers and sea launched missiles,” he said.

Earlier in the operation, U.S. forces sank an Iranian drone carrier vessel.

U.S. Central Command continues targeting mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities, Caine said.

U.S. Air Superiority Expanding

Caine said Iranian air defenses no longer present a major obstacle for U.S. aircraft.

“Most of their higher end surface to air missile systems are not factors at this point in time,” he said. “We’re able to move around fighters that are moving deeper with relative impunity.”

He added that risks remain and declined to discuss operational details.

Pentagon Rejects “Endless War” Narrative

Hegseth said the campaign targets defined military objectives and will not evolve into a prolonged war.

“This is not endless. It’s not protracted. We’re not allowing mission creep,” Hegseth said.

“The president has set a very specific mission to accomplish, and our job is to unrelentingly deliver that.”

He added that President Donald Trump will determine the timeline.

“Ultimately, the president gets to determine the end state of those objectives.”

Pentagon Honors Seven Fallen Service Members

Caine opened the briefing by honoring U.S. service members killed during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury.

According to Defense Department announcements and reporting on the attacks, seven U.S. service members have died during the opening phase of the conflict.

Those identified include:

• Major Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa
• Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California
• Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
• Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
• Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa
• Staff Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky

Six of the service members died during an Iranian drone attack on March 1 at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait, according to reporting on the incident.

Pennington died on March 8 after suffering critical injuries during a separate attack on March 1 while serving at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Caine addressed the losses during the briefing.

“To the families and the families of all of our fallen, we share in your profound grief,” he said.

“The joint force remains eternally grateful for your sacrifice and the gift of a great example that your service members have given all of us.”

Pentagon Addresses Civilian Casualty Concerns

Hegseth said U.S. forces take extensive precautions to avoid civilian casualties.

“No nation takes more precautions to ensure there’s never targeting of civilians than the United States of America,” he said.

“Where things happen that need to be investigated, we will investigate.”

Hegseth also accused Iranian forces of placing military assets near civilian areas.

“We’ve seen in the intel moving rocket launchers into civilian neighborhoods near schools, near hospitals to try to prevent our ability to strike,” he said.

Strait Of Hormuz Remains Strategic Focus

Officials also addressed the possibility of escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz if Iran attempts to disrupt oil shipments.

Caine said military planners are evaluating options.

“We’ll look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that,” he said.

Hegseth warned that the U.S. would respond forcefully if Iran attempts to block the waterway.

“The world needs to understand this isn’t intended to be nor is it something that will expand,” he said. “We know exactly what we’re attempting to achieve here.”

Context: Iran’s Global Partnerships

As tensions with Iran escalate, analysts continue to scrutinize Tehran’s international relationships.

That investigation reported that documents provided by a Venezuelan whistleblower described cooperation between Iran and Venezuela spanning finance, mining, energy, and military-linked sectors.