NEW YORK, March 4. /TASS/. The US has struck around 2,000 targets since the start of its military operation against Iran, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), has reported.

"We've already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran's air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran's ballistic missiles, launchers, and drones," he said in a video released on the command’s X page.

"More than 50,000 troops, 200 fighters, two aircraft carriers, and bombers from the United States are participating in this operation," Cooper added. According to him, "more capability is on the way."

The US has also destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including a submarine, Cooper added. "Thus far, we've destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine that now has a hole in its side," Cooper concluded.

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power.

As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation targeting sites in Israel; US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.