WASHINGTON (AP) — Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and the United States, officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have been asserting that Iranian military and weapons capabilities have been nearly eliminated after weeks of combat operations.
However, there is also recognition that Tehran still possesses some defensive and offensive capabilities.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated this week that American forces have targeted over 13,000 locations. He provided high percentage figures for successful attacks on Iran’s air defense systems, naval forces, and munitions manufacturing facilities.
Nevertheless, these numbers fall short of the complete “decimation” of Iran’s military capabilities that the Republican president has claimed.
Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, an American organization that monitors global conflicts, indicates that Iranian attacks continued at a fairly consistent and uninterrupted rate from the war’s start on February 28 through Wednesday.
The following breakdown shows what US officials report has been targeted, degraded, or remains of Iran’s military assets:
Caine informed Pentagon reporters Wednesday that American forces have attacked over 1,500 air defense installations, more than 450 facilities storing ballistic missiles, and 800 storage sites for one-way attack drones. “All of these systems are gone,” he stated.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made similar assertions, declaring that “Iran no longer has an air defense” and “we own their skies” before acknowledging shortly after that Iran “can still shoot — we know that.”
Hegseth further explained that while Iranians might “have a system here or there,” they no longer possessed an air defense “system that’s capable of defending their skies.”
Both Caine and Hegseth failed to specify what the remaining 20% of Iran’s air defenses consisted of or which regions of the country retained the ability to conduct the intermittent firing they described.
Caine provided no additional information about the type of weapon Iranians used to bring down an American F-15E Strike Eagle last week. This marked the first downing of a US military aircraft during the conflict, demonstrating Tehran’s ongoing ability to retaliate despite administration claims.
Trump characterized it Monday as a “handheld shoulder missile, heat-seeking missile.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters Wednesday that the Iranian navy was “completely annihilated.”
Although 150 Iranian vessels “are at the bottom of the ocean,” Caine noted, only half of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s small attack craft — vessels the government employed to swarm and harass military ships and merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz — have been destroyed.
Caine also reported that following more than 700 attacks, military officials believe they have eliminated over 95% of Iran’s naval mines.
Since the US has not disclosed the size of Iran’s pre-war stockpile, the number of naval mines comprising the remaining 5% is unknown. Semi-official Iranian news outlets published a diagram Thursday indicating the Revolutionary Guard deployed sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil trade passage, during the conflict.
This messaging likely serves as a negotiating tactic as Iran, Israel, and the United States prepare for talks this weekend in Pakistan. Independent experts report no changes in commercial shipping through the strait since the fragile ceasefire began this week.
Caine declared Wednesday that military forces “destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base” while highlighting that the US and allies targeted “approximately 90% of their weapons factories.”
He also stated, “nearly 80% of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was hit, further degrading their attempts to attain a nuclear weapon.”
While noting that Iran could no longer manufacture certain components like solid rocket motors, he avoided saying Iran couldn’t eventually reconstruct facilities or obtain weapons through alternative means, or that the targeted factories had been completely destroyed or made inoperable.
Trump recognized this possibility when he cautioned nations against supplying arms to Iran.
“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately,” Trump posted on social media Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military highlighted how many drones or missiles it has successfully intercepted. Officials reported an interception rate exceeding 90% through their aerial defense networks.
Over decades, Israel has built an advanced system capable of identifying incoming threats and responding only when projectiles target populated areas or critical military or civilian infrastructure.
Israeli officials say the system isn’t completely foolproof but credit it with preventing major damage and numerous casualties.
