by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News) – Iran’s ability to threaten Israel, America’s regional allies, and U.S. personnel across the Middle East has been dramatically reduced, according to Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, who told a Senate committee Thursday that Tehran’s military reach has been severely weakened after recent U.S. operations.
“Iran has a significantly degraded threat, and they no longer threaten regional partners, or the United States, in ways that they were able to do before, across every domain,” Cooper said. “They’ve been significantly degraded.”
In one of the most striking assessments of the hearing, Cooper said Iran’s most dangerous terror proxies — Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen — have been cut off from Tehran’s weapons pipeline and support network.
“Today, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all cut-off from Iran’s weapons supply and support,” Cooper said, adding that the outcome “was not foreordained.”
The assessment marks a major strategic shift in the region. For decades, Iran has relied on its proxy armies to wage war against Israel, harass U.S. forces, destabilize Arab nations, and project power far beyond its borders. But Cooper told lawmakers that those transfer routes and supply methods have now been severed, sharply limiting Tehran’s ability to arm its terrorist allies.
Cooper said Iranian-backed groups carried out more than 350 attacks against U.S. troops and diplomats in the 30 months before the recent war — roughly one attack every three days — killing four American soldiers.
The CENTCOM chief also said Iran’s drone arsenal has been devastated, with Tehran left with only about 10 percent of its drones. He added that American forces have stopped relying on costly high-end interceptors to shoot down Iranian drones and are now using lower-cost munitions, easing pressure on limited U.S. stockpiles.
Reuters reported that Cooper said Iran’s defense industry had been set back by 90 percent, though the admiral declined to directly address reports that Tehran may still retain significant missile and drone capabilities stored in underground facilities.
The testimony comes amid a fragile month-long ceasefire, even as scattered skirmishes continue between Iranian and American forces. Still, Cooper’s remarks suggest Washington believes the recent campaign has achieved one of its central goals: breaking Iran’s ability to freely arm and sustain the terror network it built across the Middle East.
For Israel and America’s regional partners, the implications are profound. If Iran’s weapons pipeline to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis remains disrupted, the balance of power may be shifting away from Tehran’s axis of terror and toward a new era of deterrence — one shaped by strength, resolve, and a hard-earned understanding that peace is preserved when evil is confronted before it spreads.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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