Iran remains security threat even after airstrikes, CENTCOM warns

President Donald Trump ’s nominee to serve as the next head of U.S. Central Command warned lawmakers on Tuesday that Iran still has “considerable tactical capabilities” even after recent airstrikes from Israeli and American forces , and will remain a security threat for the foreseeable future.

Vice Adm. Charles B. Cooper II, who has served as the top deputy at Central Command since February 2024, said that the recent assaults have degraded some of Iran’s military but declined to give specifics on whether their fledgling nuclear program has been eliminated.

Even without it, he said that Iranian aggression and support for militant groups in the region would remain a top concern for American defense planners.

“I think we would all agree that Iran is the number one source of instability in the region, and the number one source and sponsor of terror throughout the world,” he said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Deterring Iran will be a priority … We’ve got to be in a three-point stance every day.”

Over the weekend, U.S. military assets bombarded several key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what the White House has claimed is a knockout blow to the country’s nuclear program. The move came after several days of similar Israeli strikes against key military and production sites.

The strikes followed almost two years of conflict between Israel and Iran’s main proxy groups in the region: Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. Over time, the Israel Defense Forces have severely damaged these militias, which Iran has long sponsored as a deterrent against Tel Aviv, its main adversary.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump wrote on social media that “it was my great honor to destroy all nuclear facilities and capability” in Iran, and suggested the threat from that country is now minimal.

Pentagon leaders have thus far touted the mission as a success but declined to publicly reveal just how much damage was done to the Iranian programs. And Cooper’s comments Tuesday made it clear that senior military officials still see the country as a significant problem to peace and stability in the region.

The lack of detail on the current status of the Iranian nuclear program and the damage it incurred was a point of frustration for Democratic lawmakers in Tuesday’s hearing, who have pressed the administration for more specifics on the threats posed by Iran and the status of their nuclear ambitions.

Pentagon leaders had planned briefings on the weekend airstrikes for House and Senate lawmakers Tuesday afternoon, but those meetings were later postponed until the end of the week.

“This last-minute postponement is outrageous, evasive and derelict,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said in a statement. “Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening.”

Democratic lawmakers have voiced worries that the military actions were premature and lacked justification, given past intelligence reports casting doubt on Iran’s ability to assemble a nuclear weapon.

They also criticized the administration for putting U.S. military personnel in harm’s way with the preventative action. On Monday, Iran launched multiple missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar, though no casualties or significant damage was reported.

Republican lawmakers on the Senate panel did not share those concerns, and largely praised Trump’s decision to strike Iran during Tuesday’s hearing.

“Iran didn’t become a terrorist state because the United States bombed their nuclear bunkers,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. “The United States bombed their nuclear bunkers because they are a terrorist state.”

Senate lawmakers have discussed plans to vote on potential new limits to presidential war powers this week, but the timing of that Democratic-led effort could be impacted by the rescheduled congressional briefings.

Pentagon leaders have said there are no plans for additional strikes against Iran but left open the possibility of more military action if needed.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普提名的下一任美国中央司令部司令周二警告国会议员，即使在以色列和美国军队最近发动空袭之后，伊朗仍然拥有“相当大的战术能力”，并且在可预见的未来仍将构成安全威胁。

自 2024 年 2 月起担任中央司令部最高副司令的查尔斯·B·库珀二世海军中将表示，最近的袭击削弱了伊朗的部分军事力量，但他拒绝透露伊朗刚刚起步的核计划是否已被消除的具体细节。

他表示，即使没有伊朗的侵略行为以及对该地区武装组织的支持，仍将是美国国防规划者最为关注的问题。

“我认为我们都会同意，伊朗是该地区不稳定的首要根源，也是全世界恐怖主义的首要来源和赞助者，”他在参议院军事委员会作证时说道。

“遏制伊朗将是我们的首要任务……我们每天都必须坚持这三点原则。”

上周末，美国军方对伊朗几处重要的地下铀浓缩设施进行了轰炸，白宫声称此举对伊朗核计划造成了致命打击。此前数日，以色列也对伊朗的关键军事和生产设施发动了类似的袭击。

此次空袭发生在以色列与伊朗在该地区的主要代理组织——真主党、哈马斯和胡塞武装——之间近两年的冲突之后。随着时间的推移，以色列国防军已对这些民兵组织造成了严重打击，而伊朗长期以来一直支持这些组织，以此来威慑其主要对手特拉维夫。

周二，唐纳德·特朗普总统在社交媒体上写道，“摧毁伊朗所有核设施和能力是我的荣幸”，并暗示来自该国的威胁现在已微乎其微。

五角大楼领导人迄今为止一直称赞此次行动取得成功，但拒绝公开透露伊朗核计划究竟遭受了多大的破坏。库珀周二的言论也明确表明，高级军官仍然认为伊朗是该地区和平与稳定的一大隐患。

周二的听证会上，民主党议员们对伊朗核计划现状及其造成的损害缺乏细节感到沮丧，他们一直敦促政府提供更多关于伊朗构成的威胁及其核野心现状的具体信息。

五角大楼领导人原计划周二下午向众议院和参议院议员通报周末空袭情况，但这些会议后来推迟到本周末举行。

“这种最后一刻的推迟令人愤慨、敷衍了事且玩忽职守，”参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默（纽约州民主党籍）在一份声明中表示。“参议员们理应享有完全透明的信息，而政府有法律义务向国会如实通报正在发生的事情。”

鉴于过去的情报报告对伊朗组装核武器的能力表示怀疑，民主党议员们表示担忧，认为此次军事行动为时过早且缺乏正当理由。

他们还批评政府采取预防措施，将美国军人置于危险之中。周一，伊朗向位于卡塔尔的一个美军基地发射了多枚导弹，但没有人员伤亡或重大损失的报告。

参议院委员会的共和党议员们并不认同这些担忧，并在周二的听证会上普遍赞扬了特朗普打击伊朗的决定。

“伊朗之所以成为恐怖主义国家，并非因为美国轰炸了他们的核掩体，”阿肯色州共和党参议员汤姆·科顿说。“美国轰炸他们的核掩体，是因为伊朗本身就是一个恐怖主义国家。”

参议院议员们本周讨论了对总统战争权力可能的新限制进行投票的计划，但这项由民主党主导的努力的时间安排可能会受到重新安排的国会简报会的影响。

五角大楼领导人表示，目前没有对伊朗发动更多打击的计划，但如果需要，也不排除采取更多军事行动的可能性。

利奥为《军事时报》报道国会、退伍军人事务部和白宫的新闻。自2004年以来，他一直报道华盛顿特区的新闻，重点关注军人和退伍军人政策。他的作品荣获多项荣誉，包括2009年波尔克奖、2010年国家头条新闻奖、国际退伍军人协会新闻领导力奖和美国退伍军人协会新闻媒体奖。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。