CENTCOM Commander Says Reports Iran Has Regained Access to Missile Sites Are Inaccurate

Recent reports claim that Iranian forces are using many missile storage sites that U.S. forces had previously bombed.

Commander of U.S. Africa Command Air Force Gen. Dagvin Anderson (R) shakes hands with Commander of U.S. Central Command Navy Adm. Brad Cooper (L) as they conclude their testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 14, 2026. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the U.S. military’s Middle East component, told lawmakers on May 19 that Iran’s missile arsenal remains largely defeated and inaccessible in response to recent reports to the contrary.

In a written statement to the House Armed Services Committee, Cooper wrote that the recent U.S. military operations against Iran—known as Operation Epic Fury—had damaged or destroyed more than 85 percent of Iran’s ballistic missile, drone, and naval industry.