US CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper [AFP=Yonhap News]

The U.S. military has weakened Iran's military power that threatened the Strait of Hormuz by striking underground missile facilities located along the Iranian coastline near the Strait of Hormuz, it was announced on the 21st (local time).

Commander Brad Cooper of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees U.S. forces in the central region, briefed on the status of the ongoing military operations against Iran, which entered its 22nd day, in a video posted on the CENTCOM X account on this day.

"Earlier this week, we dropped several 5,000-pound (approximately 2.3-ton) bombs on underground facilities along the Iranian coastline," Cooper said.

He explained that the facilities had been used to secretly store anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile missile launchers, and other equipment that threatened international shipping.

Previously, CENTCOM announced on the 17th that it had struck missile bases along the Iranian coastline near the Strait of Hormuz with 5,000-pound bunker-buster munitions.

"We not only destroyed those facilities but also intelligence support facilities and missile radar relay facilities that were used to monitor ship movements," Cooper said. "As a result, Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz has been weakened."

"We will not stop attacking these targets," he added.

He also stated that they have defended against thousands of Iranian drone attacks in conjunction with their partner nations in the Middle East, saying, "We remain focused on dismantling Iran's decades-long threat to disrupt free commercial activity in the Strait of Hormuz."

Cooper further added, "Iran has lost significant combat capability in the last three weeks. We are neutralizing thousands of Iranian missiles, advanced attack drones, and Iranian naval assets used to harass international shipping."

"We have struck over 8,000 military targets, including 130 Iranian vessels," he said. "This is the largest scale of naval power destruction in a three-week period since World War II."

Map of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz [Reuters=Yonhap News]