The Latest: US Central Command leader says Iran campaign is ‘ahead or on plan’
Mar 22, 2026, 9:08 PM | Updated: Mar 23, 2026, 6:58 pm
Smoke and flames rise from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, March 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
The top commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command said the campaign against Iran is “ahead or on plan,” as the Israeli military began what it called “a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian terror regime infrastructure” early Monday.
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper gave his first one-on-one interview of the war to the Farsi-language satellite network Iran International, which aired it early Monday. Iranian media reported new airstrikes targeting Tehran without identifying the sites being hit.
The previous day, Tehran warned it could attack U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets if Israel or the U.S. attempt to follow through on President Donald Trump ‘s threat that the U.S. would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump — who is facing increasing pressure at home to secure the strait as oil prices soar — issued the ultimatum in a social media post while he spent the weekend at his Florida home.
The death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 U.S. military members, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.
Here is the latest:
The top commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command said the U.S. campaign against Iran is “ahead or on plan.”
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper gave his first one-on-one interview of the war to the Farsi-language satellite network Iran International, which aired it early Monday.
Cooper said Iran’s continued attacks on Gulf Arab states and the wider Mideast put civilians at risk.
He added that the U.S. and Israel were targeting missile and drone manufacturing sites as well.
“We’re also going after the manufacturing,” he said. “So it’s not just about the threat today. We’re eliminating the threat of the future, both in terms of the drones, the missiles, as well as the navy.”
Cooper also said it isn’t time for the Iranian public to come to the streets, although both Israel and the U.S. have said they hope the Iranian public would topple the country’s theocracy as a result of the strikes.
“They’re launching missiles and drones from populated areas and you need to stay inside for right now,” Cooper said. “There will be a clear signal at some point, as the president has indicated, for you to be able to come out.”
1. An Indian living in the United Arab Emirates was hurt by falling shrapnel after the interception of a ballistic missile over an industrial area near Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, authorities said Monday
2. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it intercepted a ballistic missile targeting the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh, while another struck an “uninhabited area”
3. The United Arab Emirates said its air defense were working to intercept incoming missiles from Iran early Monday, without elaborating.
4. Both Bahrain and Kuwait sounded missile alerts early Monday over incoming Iranian fire, though it wasn’t clear if there was any immediate damage from the barrages.
