OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:00 PM – Wednesday, March 11, 2026
In a major operational update delivered on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the ongoing military campaign against the Iranian regime has reached a critical tipping point.
Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander of CENTCOM, confirmed that American forces have now struck more than 5,500 targets across Iran, including the destruction of over 60 naval vessels.
“To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships, using a variety of precision weapon systems. We also took out the last of four Soleimani-class warships. That’s an entire class of Iranian ships now out of the fight,” Cooper said.
The update, provided on Wednesday at 12:30 P.M. PT, follows what War Secretary Pete Hegseth described as the “most intense day of strikes” yet, the day before on Tuesday.
The most significant development in the last 24 hours was the reported total elimination of certain Iranian naval classes. Cooper revealed that “strike waves” occurring nearly every hour have decimated Iran’s ability to project power in the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. also confirmed the destruction of the last of Iran’s four Shahid Soleimani-class warships on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM has pivoted its naval strategy to aggressively target Iranian mine-laying operations after intelligence confirmed the deployment of naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Reports from U.S. intelligence suggest that Iran has already deployed several dozen mines — ranging from rudimentary contact mines to more sophisticated influence mines — using small, fast-attack craft that are difficult to track.
These vessels typically operate in “swarms,” with each boat capable of carrying two to three mines, allowing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) to rapidly contaminate shipping lanes under the cover of the region’s heavy maritime traffic.
The prioritization of these “hunters” comes as President Donald Trump issued a “remove them immediately” ultimatum to Tehran, warning of military consequences “at a level never seen before” if the waterway remains obstructed.
While the U.S. has utilized advanced surveillance and precision-strike technology — similar to that used in recent counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean — to “wipe out” inactive and active minelayers, the threat remains acute.
Experts estimate that Iran retains roughly 80% to 90% of its small-boat fleet and possesses a stockpile of between 2,000 and 6,000 mines. Even a small number of active mines can effectively blockade the strait by causing maritime insurance rates to skyrocket, potentially halting the flow of the roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas that transits the region daily.
The scale of Operation Epic Fury — which began on February 28th — has been bolstered by the first-of-its-kind integration of AI data-sorting tools.
According to CENTCOM, these systems allow commanders to sift through intelligence “in seconds,” though Adm. Cooper emphasized that human operators remain the final decision-makers for all kinetic strikes.
“Our strikes are unpredictable, dynamic, and decisive,” Cooper stated. “We have achieved air superiority over vast swaths of Iran, and the regime’s ability to launch ballistic missiles has dropped by approximately 90%.”
Additionally, CENTCOM issued an urgent directive on Wednesday for Iranian civilians to avoid all port facilities immediately. The U.S. further warned that civilian ports used for military purposes have lost their “protected status” under international law. Dockworkers and commercial crews were told to distance themselves from any IRGC naval assets.
Speaking from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, President Trump struck a confident tone, reiterating that the war could end “very soon.” He declared that the relentless bombing campaign has left the Iranian military with “practically nothing left to target.”
Iran has already retaliated with sporadic drone and missile strikes against Gulf states hosting U.S. assets, and global energy prices continue to fluctuate as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to commercial traffic.
However, in a bid to stabilize global energy markets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) also announced on Wednesday that its 32 member countries, including the U.S., will release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves.
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