US commanders defend Iran strikes as senators clash over strategy, economic risks

Washington: The Trump administration’s Iran campaign came under intense scrutiny at a Senate hearing, with US military commanders claiming Tehran’s military capabilities had been severely degraded even as lawmakers warned of rising economic and regional risks.

Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral Charles Cooper II defended Operation Epic Fury and said US forces had successfully crippled Iran’s ability to project military power across the Middle East.

“In less than 40 days, Centcom forces achieved our military objectives,” Cooper told lawmakers. “We degraded Iran’s ability to project power outside its borders and threaten the region and threaten our interests.”

Cooper said Iran’s missile, drone and naval industrial infrastructure had been degraded by nearly 90 per cent. He added that Tehran’s navy may not recover to its earlier strength “for a generation.”

Republican lawmakers strongly backed the administration’s military campaign.

Iran's support for terror

Senator Roger Wicker said Iran had spent decades supporting terrorism, attacking US interests and developing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

“The Iranian regime has terrorised the region and made hostility to the United States a core tenet of its rule,” Cooper said during his testimony.

Senator Tom Cotton argued that Iran was now “significantly less of a threat” than before the operation began. Cooper agreed and said Tehran could no longer carry out the kind of mass missile and drone attacks seen in recent years.

But Democrats repeatedly questioned the administration’s strategy and the long-term consequences of the conflict.

Senator Jack Reed said there was “no purely military solution” to the Iranian nuclear issue and criticised the administration for lacking “a credible strategy to win.”

Senator Tim Kaine accused the administration of abandoning diplomacy and warned against another prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

“If you make diplomacy impossible, you will make war inevitable,” Kaine said.

During the hearing, several senators focused on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on global trade and oil prices. Lawmakers warned that disruptions in the strategic waterway were already increasing costs for American consumers.

Cooper acknowledged Iran retained “some residual capability” to threaten shipping and infrastructure, though he insisted those capabilities had been “dramatically degraded.”

The hearing also turned to Africa, where General Dagvin Anderson warned that the continent had become “the epicenter of global terrorism.”

Anderson said ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliates were expanding across parts of the Sahel and Somalia while China and Russia were increasing their strategic influence through infrastructure projects, military ties, and information campaigns. He also warned of growing intelligence gaps across parts of Africa.