Iran is launching significantly fewer missiles and drones than it did at the start of the war on Saturday, the United States’ top military officer said on Wednesday, even as Washington signalled an expansion of its offensive deeper into Iranian territory.
“We will now begin to expand inland striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory, and creating additional freedom of maneuver for US forces,” General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.
Sharp drop in Iranian firepower
Caine said the number of ballistic missiles fired by Iran had dropped by 86% from Saturday’s levels, with a 23% decline in launches over the past 24 hours.
One-way attack drone launches were also down 73% from the opening days of the conflict, he added, according to news agency AP.
However, some experts believe that Iran may be conserving weapons to prolong the conflict.
The escalating war has already killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, over 50 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.
US ‘winning the war’: Hegseth
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States was prevailing in the conflict, even as he confirmed that six American troops had been killed so far.
“The United States will outlast Iran,” Hegseth said, as quoted by Reuters.
He also confirmed that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, describing it as the first sinking of an enemy vessel by torpedo since World War Two.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death,” Hegseth said.
Caine later specified that the US Navy fast-attack submarine used a single Mark 48 torpedo in the strike. A US official confirmed the vessel was the Iranian warship Dena.
War expands beyond Iran
The conflict has widened across the region. Israel struck targets in Tehran and hit the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, while Iran fired missiles at Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel.
Turkey said Nato defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkish airspace. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a Malta-flagged merchant ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, with Oman’s navy rescuing the crew.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had pursued diplomacy but was forced into self-defence following US and Israeli attacks.
“We respect your sovereignty,” Pezeshkian said on X in a message to neighbouring countries, adding that regional stability must come through collective efforts.
Civilian toll and economic shockwaves
The war has triggered mass displacement in Lebanon, with more than 83,000 people uprooted, and nearly 60,000 displaced in the last 24 hours alone, including about 18,000 children, Lebanese authorities and UNICEF said.
In Tehran, residents described emptier streets, heavy smoke and intermittent anti-aircraft fire as strikes intensified,.
Oil prices have surged following Iranian attacks on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and global stock markets have been rattled amid fears that rising energy costs could slow the global economy.
Despite the mounting violence, the White House said there are currently no plans to deploy US ground troops into Iran. “It’s not part of the current plan, but I’m not going to remove an option for the president that is on the table,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.