JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - As the Middle East war enters the seventh day, Israel has intensified air strikes on Iran, while the United States said its attacks on Iran is going to 'surge dramatically.'
'Last night was the worst night' so far, BBC Persian quoted residents in capital Tehran as saying.
Simultaneously, the Israel Defense Forces said it launched a 'broad-scale wave' of aerial attacks on Lebanon's capital, Beirut.
Iranian state media reported that Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes on targets in 'the heart' of Tel Aviv.
President Donald Trump said he is not considering sending troops to Iran, as it already has weakened.
On Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited U.S. Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and met with Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, for updates on the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation, code-named, 'Operation Epic Fury'.
While providing an update on the conflict for the second time in as many days, and joined by the commander of U.S. Central Command, Hegseth said 'the amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically.'
He added that the Iranian regime would be foolish to think that the U.S. isn't completely committed to accomplishing the mission in Iran.
Hegseth called reports that a U.S. F-15 Eagle fighter jet had been shot down as false.
The Defense Secretary also addressed concerns about the operation expanding beyond Iran's borders to other nations throughout the Middle East, saying that Iran's targeting of countries throughout the region is actually encouraging them to side with the U.S. and Israel in the conflict.
Admiral Cooper concurred with Hegseth's assessment that U.S. combat power is growing in the region while Iran's continually declines, citing the last 72 hours as an example.
During that time, America's bomber force has struck close to 200 targets deep inside Iran, including around the capital city of Tehran.
Cooper also said that in just the one hour prior to the start of Thursday's press conference, U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs that targeted deeply buried Iranian ballistic missile launchers.
'Notably, we have also struck Iran's equivalent of (U.S.) Space Command, which degrades (Iran's) ability to threaten Americans.'
As to the decline in Iran's combat capability, Cooper said Iran's ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90 percent since the Middle East war broke out Saturday, and that Iranian drone attacks have decreased by 83 percent in the same time-frame.
At sea, Cooper said the number of sunken Iranian navy ships has crossed 30.
'And in just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship, roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. And as we speak, it's on fire.'
He added that under orders from President Donald Trump, Centcom forces are working to destroy Iran's missile industrial base.
'We're not just hitting what they have, we're destroying their ability to rebuild. And so, as we transition to the next phase of this operation, we will systemically dismantle Iran's missile production capability for the future, and that's absolutely in progress'.
He added that Centcom and Israel's combined joint forces have 'relentlessly destroyed' Iran's air defenses during the conflict, and that those forces will continue hunting for more systems to attack.
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