White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday called the US-Israeli operation in Iran “a resounding success so far,” describing Iran's navy as “combat ineffective,” CBS News reports.
Leavitt said in a press briefing that the U.S. is making “huge strides” toward achieving its military goals.
“Ten days in, this campaign has been a resounding success so far, and American soldiers are winning this important battle at an even faster rate than we expected,” she said.
Iran's ballistic missile attacks have dropped by 90 percent and drone attacks by about 85 percent since the start of the US-Israeli military operation, the White House spokeswoman added.
“None of the regime's ships operate in the main regional waterways, and the Iranian navy has been assessed as ineffective in combat,” Leavitt said.
“The trend is clear: US combat capabilities are growing and becoming more lethal and dominant by the day, while the Iranian terrorist regime's ability to react has declined rapidly,” the spokeswoman added.
Earlier in the day, General Dan Caine, the head of the US military, told reporters at a press conference at the Pentagon that the United States is conducting strikes against Iranian mine-laying ships and that the Pentagon will consider a number of options if President Donald Trump orders merchant ships to be escorted through the Strait of Hormuz.
The war has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a hub for global oil and liquefied natural gas transport – through which about 20 percent of the world's supplies pass, with oil tankers prevented from sailing for more than a week.
“I think they (the Iranians, no) are fighting, and I respect that, but I don't think they're any more formidable than we imagined,” Caine said.
The United States carried out strikes against more than 5,000 targets in the first 10 days of the campaign, including more than 50 warships, the head of the US Army Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
