Admiral Brad Cooper

Our strikes against the Iranian Navy have intensified.

You may have heard the President say just a little while ago that we have sunk or destroyed 24 ships.

That was true at the moment.

We're now up over 30 ships.

And in just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship, roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.

And as we speak, it's on fire.

The President gave us another task, to raise or level Iran's ballistic missile industrial base.

So we're not just hitting what they have, we're destroying their ability to rebuild.

And so as we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systemically dismantle Iran's missile production capability for the future, and that's absolutely in progress.

This is going to take some time, but our forces are well supplied, as the Secretary said, and we are absolutely ready to prosecute this mission decisively.

Our combined joint forces have relentlessly destroyed Iran's air defenses over the past few days, and they've continued hunting for more systems to kill.

Our air defenders are operating at the very top of their game, I couldn't be prouder, shoulder to shoulder with our partners in the region, in many cases, providing the most integrated air defense network in Middle East history.

We are fighting to win.

Through combined U.S.

and Israeli combat power, we will continue decimating Iran's ability to project power outside its borders.

And if I can just conclude by saying a strong salute to the brave men and women who are out on the pointy edge of this, really doing exceptional work.

I just couldn't be prouder, and I know the American people share in that same pride.

So thank you very much.

Go ahead.

We're very familiar with Iranians' capabilities, and as you might imagine, we planned for it right from the outset, and I feel good about what the plan was.