• President Trump asserts Iran's missile capabilities have been "largely wiped out" after 11 days of intensive U.S. strikes.
  • Operation Epic Fury has targeted over 5,000 sites and damaged more than 50 Iranian vessels, according to military reports.
  • Mixed signals emerge from the administration regarding conflict duration, with Trump warning of escalated strikes if Iran disrupts oil supplies.

Escalating Military Campaign

President Donald Trump declared on March 10 that Iran doesn't have many missiles left following sustained U.S. military operations, marking what he described as significant progress in degrading Tehran's military capabilities. The statement came as Operation Epic Fury entered its twelfth day, with administration officials confirming strikes against more than 5,000 targets across Iran and damage to over 50 Iranian naval vessels.

"We've made tremendous progress in wiping out their missile stockpiles," Trump told reporters during an impromptu briefing, though he declined to provide specific intelligence assessments. "When we started this operation, they had thousands of missiles pointed at our allies and our interests. Now they're running low."

Strategic Objectives and Contradictions

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has outlined four primary objectives for the campaign: destroying Iran's ballistic missile arsenals and production capacity, annihilating Iran's navy, severing support for terrorist proxies, and preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. "Our mission is clear—obliterate Iran's missiles and drones and facilities that produce them," Hegseth stated in a recent Pentagon address. "We will permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever."

Yet the administration has sent conflicting messages about the conflict's timeline. While Trump claimed "the war is very complete" in one statement, he told Republican lawmakers at a separate event in Miami that the U.S. still needed to achieve "ultimate victory" and hadn't yet "won enough." This ambiguity has left allies and analysts questioning the administration's endgame.

Regional Fallout and Diplomatic Breakdown

Iran has responded to the strikes with drone and rocket attacks across Gulf countries, while Israel conducted targeted strikes against Hezbollah financial infrastructure in Lebanon—signaling broader regional escalation. According to people familiar with ongoing intelligence assessments, Iranian-backed militias have increased activity in Iraq and Syria, though their capabilities appear diminished compared to pre-conflict levels.

The diplomatic backdrop remains tense. An unnamed U.S. official acknowledged on February 28 that the immediate threat driving military action was Iran's conventional missile capability rather than nuclear weapons, contradicting some public statements from administration figures. Trump himself stated on February 27 that he was "not happy" about how Iran was negotiating before strikes commenced the following day, suggesting diplomatic channels had effectively collapsed.

Expert Scrutiny and Market Reactions

Arms control experts have challenged the administration's justification for the campaign. According to analysis from the Arms Control Association, there was no evidence that Iran's nuclear program posed an imminent threat when strikes began, and Trump's characterization of Iran's activities as "rebuilding" a nuclear program lacked supporting evidence. "The intelligence community's assessments don't align with the rhetoric we're hearing," said one former official who requested anonymity due to ongoing consulting work with defense contractors.

Oil markets have remained volatile throughout the conflict, with Brent crude fluctuating between $85 and $92 per barrel as traders weigh supply disruption risks against strategic reserve releases. Trump's warning that the U.S. would strike "TWENTY TIMES HARDER" if Iran disrupts global oil supplies has kept energy traders on edge, according to multiple sources at major commodity firms.

What Comes Next

Military planners are reportedly assessing next-phase targets as initial objectives appear largely achieved, according to two people briefed on operational planning. However, the administration faces mounting questions about post-conflict strategy and regional stabilization efforts. Attempts to reach Iranian officials for comment through intermediaries were unsuccessful, and the State Department declined to elaborate on potential diplomatic overtures.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the number of days Operation Epic Fury had been ongoing. The campaign began on February 28, 2026, making it 12 days as of March 11.