US admiral says Iran’s regional threat capabilities “significantly degraded”

During a public hearing in the US Senate, Democratic senators questioned Admiral Brad Cooper about Iran’s remaining military capabilities and its ability to threaten regional infrastructure and maritime trade in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed asked whether Iran remained capable of inflicting significant damage on infrastructure in neighbouring countries and across the Gulf region, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

After noting that he could not disclose classified information in a public session, Cooper stated that Iran’s capabilities had been “dramatically degraded.”

“That certainly doesn't mean that they don't have anything left. But the large scale volleys that we've seen over the last couple of years, or Iran is no longer capable of executing those,” the admiral said.

When Reed followed up by asking whether Iran could no longer be considered a threat, Cooper replied that the country now represented a “significantly degraded threat.”

“Iran has a significantly degraded threat, and they no longer threaten regional, regional partners or the United States in ways that they were able to do before,” he stated, adding that Iran had been “significantly degraded” across every domain.

Earlier in the hearing, Cooper was also questioned about Iran’s long-standing support for armed groups in the region. According to the admiral, Tehran’s proxy networks had effectively been “cut off.”

“As we sit here today, there are no resources and equipment that are flowing from Iran to Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis,” he said, adding that the transfer routes and methods had been disrupted.

Later, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal raised concerns over Iran’s remaining missile stockpiles and its ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Referring to media reports claiming that Iran still possessed up to 70–75% of its missiles and launchers, Blumenthal asked Cooper to comment.

The admiral declined to discuss intelligence assessments publicly but said that “the numbers that I've seen in open source are not accurate.”

He stressed that Iran’s capabilities should be assessed not only by missile stockpiles, but also by the damage inflicted on its command-and-control systems and production infrastructure.

According to Cooper, Iran’s ability to disrupt commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been “dramatically degraded,” although he acknowledged that Tehran’s rhetoric still affects global shipping and insurance markets.

“But their voice is very loud, and those threats are clearly heard, by the merchant industry and the insurance industry,” he added.

By Vugar Khalilov