Admiral Brad Cooper told senators Operation Epic Fury hit Iran’s naval mine and missile capabilities hard, degrading its ability to stop commerce through the Strait of Hormuz—while warning Tehran still has remaining ways to threaten ships. He also faced questi
Admiral Brad Cooper walked into the Senate Armed Services Committee with a message that lands on both sides of the same fear: the U.S. campaign against Iran has sharply reduced Tehran’s ability to interfere with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but the threats have not vanished.
Testifying on Thursday, the head of U.S.. Central Command said Operation Epic Fury achieved its objectives to “significantly degrade” Iran’s military capabilities—even as Iran continues to claim control of the strait.. “The Iranian ability to stop commerce has been dramatically degraded through the straits. but their voice is very loud. ” Cooper told the panel.. “The threats are clearly heard by the merchant industry and the insurance industry.”
Cooper said U.S. forces destroyed more than 90% of Iran’s inventory of 8,000 naval mines—an effort meant to keep mines from being deployed in the waterway. “The Iranian ability to stop commerce” was not eliminated, he acknowledged, but the immediate operational risk was cut.
He also said the United States retains options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz militarily, while stressing that any such step would be a decision for policymakers. The strait, he noted, remains at the center of ongoing negotiations tied to a long-term peace deal.
Kaine pressed on the legal paperwork behind the strikes
The testimony quickly ran into a separate, politically combustible question: whether members of Congress have been allowed to review the legal rationale used to justify the president’s authority to strike Iran.
Sen.. Tim Kaine. a Democrat from Virginia. said the committee has not seen an opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that he says “justified the president’s authority to launch strikes against Iran.” Kaine framed the dispute as a matter of accountability—telling senators they are being asked to fund a $1.5 trillion budget while lawmakers were denied access to the document.. “If they will not allow us to see the legal rationale for the war, what are they hiding?” Kaine asked.
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi responded by noting Cooper is not the person who would provide that opinion because he is not a policymaker.
Ceasefire remains, despite blockade and last week’s exchanges
Cooper pointed to the ceasefire reached on April 7, saying it remains in effect even with a U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports and “exchanges of fire” last week. The administration has told Congress that “hostilities” with Iran have “terminated.”
Asked how long the conflict is expected to continue, Cooper said the ceasefire still holds—while his broader description of Iran’s post-strike recovery suggested the underlying military pressure was meant to shape negotiations, not just end fighting.
In his written testimony. Cooper said Operation Epic Fury damaged or destroyed more than 85% of Iran’s ballistic missile. drone. and naval industrial base through more than 1. 450 strikes on weapons-manufacturing facilities.. He told senators it would take Iran “a generation” to rebuild its navy. and “years” for its drone and missile production to recover.
He also pushed back on recent reporting about how much of Iran’s missile force remains.. Cooper said a claim that Iran retains about 70% of its ballistic missile inventory is inaccurate. but he declined to provide specific details because they are classified.. CBS News had reported in April that Iran retained at least half of its ballistic missiles and launchers.
Cooper said U.S. intelligence saw a shift that mattered for the campaign
Cooper told senators that between November and December 2025, U.S. Central Command started “to see an increase in Iran’s capability and intent” to produce more ballistic missiles. He called it “a very significant risk,” and said it factored directly into the objectives of Operation Epic Fury.
Questions about civilian harm investigations stayed unresolved
Several lawmakers also probed whether the U.S. military’s strikes harmed civilians, and what is known—or still under review.
Cooper acknowledged that a military investigation into a strike that hit an Iranian girls’ school at the beginning of the bombing campaign—killing about 150 people—is still ongoing.. CBS News reported in early March that a preliminary U.S.. assessment suggested the U.S.. was “likely” responsible for the deadly attack, did not intentionally target the school, and may have hit it in error.
Cooper said he is “passionate” about preventing civilian harm and invited senators to visit Central Command headquarters in Tampa to see how targeting works.
Later, when Sen.. Kirsten Gillibrand asked about a New York Times report saying 22 schools had been hit since the start of the conflict. Cooper said there was no indication the report was accurate.. When Gillibrand pressed him further, he said the military has not investigated those incidents.. Cooper also said he would work on a report on whether hospitals or schools had been destroyed in U.S.. military strikes.
Slotkin asked about intelligence support from Russia and China
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, asked whether China and Russia are giving intelligence to Iran. Cooper did not answer in public, deflecting that the discussion should happen in a classified setting.
What comes next, Cooper said, depends on choices in Washington
For all the damage Cooper described—from naval mines to missile and drone production—his core message to senators was that the Strait of Hormuz is still not a fully secured corridor.
He told the committee the U.S.. has options to reopen the waterway militarily, but that the decision belongs to policymakers.. With negotiations aimed at a long-term peace deal still ongoing—and with Iran continuing to assert control—Cooper’s testimony left senators with the same tension: the U.S.. has degraded Iran’s tools to disrupt shipping. yet Tehran still has enough capability to keep the stakes high for merchant vessels and insurers.
At the center of the political fight on Capitol Hill, lawmakers also pushed for visibility into the legal underpinnings of the strikes and clearer answers about civilian harm—questions Cooper repeatedly met with limited public detail, classified boundaries, and the promise of further reporting.
CENTCOM Brad Cooper Operation Epic Fury Strait of Hormuz Iran Senate Armed Services Committee DOJ Office of Legal Counsel Tim Kaine Roger Wicker ceasefire April 7 naval mines ballistic missiles drones civilian harm investigation girls' school strike China Russia intelligence