Update Summary of Operation Epic Fury. As the Iran War enters the third week the U.S. and Israel air attacks continue, Iranian leadership and top military leaders eliminated, thousands of targets destroyed or damaged in Iran, missile and drone attacks persist against Gulf states and beyond, regime change unlikely, and Iran holding out hoping to outlast the U.S. will to continue the war. This update compiles information from U.S. Central Command briefings, regional media reporting, and open-source defense analysis.
Key Developments in Operation Epic Fury
- Pentagon Brief of Operation Epic Fury (March 13, 2026)
- More than 50,000 military personnel are supporting Operation Epic Fury
- 5 USAF Refuelers Damaged on ground, two KC-135s in midair collision, one crashed with six deceased
- Air Operations – U.S.-Israel strikes continue with near continuous strike tempo, Kharq Island bombed, over 15,000 Iranian targets struck as of March 13
- Regional air defenses are intercepting most Iranian drones and cruise missiles
- Drone and Missile Operations – Iranian attacks continue but less frequent, regional nations under attack. Drone attacks down by 95% and missile attacks down by 90%
- Naval Operations – 60 ships and 30 minelayers damaged or destroyed, an ARG and 31st MEU heading to Middle East
- Strait of Hormuz closed, Iranian sea drone attacks hit oil tankers, risk of escalation, proxy Iraq militias attack U.S. Embassy and Camp Victory in Iraq
- Trump temporarily waived sanctions on Russian oil at sea (already loaded in tankers) for 30 days, big win for Putin!
- Analysis and Opinion – boots on the ground, SOF deploys, regime change, great powers and strategic folly, Millennium Challenge 2002
Top Photo: A M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System conducts live-fire missions during Operation Epic Fury in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 9, 2026. Part of this photo was blurred for security purposes. (Credit Army)
Pentagon Briefing. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Air Force General Dan Caine held a press briefing on Friday, March 13, 2026 on Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran. Hegseth opened the brief and then Caine provided his input. This was then followed with a Q and A with the Pentagon press corps. Read the transcript. (DoD) Watch the video (DVIDS, 35 minutes)
Click here for a larger physiography map of Iran that opens in a new tab.
Air Operations
KC-135 Stratotanker Casualties Identified. The Department of Defense released the names of the Air Force Airmen who died in the recent aircraft crash on March 12, 2026 in western Iraq.
5 U.S. AF Refuelers Damaged. Five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were struck and damaged on the ground in an Iranian strike at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The tankers were damaged but not fully destroyed and are being repaired. “Five Air Force Refueling Planes Hit in Iranian Strike on Saudi Arabia”, The Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2026. (subscription)
Most social media accounts following air operations seem to think that the U.S. sent 20 KC-135 tankers into the region. With two lost in the mid-air collision (one downed and the other damaged) and these five damaged – all in 24 hours – the Air Tasking Order (ATO) may be downsized quite a bit over the next several days.
Iran’s Defense Industrial Base Attacked. According to SecDef Hegseth, Iran’s entire ballistic missile production capacity has been functionally destroyed or damaged. This includes buildings, complexes, and factory lines.
Kharg Island Bombed by U.S. According to President Trump, during the large-scale precision strike only military targets were struck and the bombings did not attack the oil infrastructure on the island. Kharg Island, located about 15 miles from the mainland, is Iran’s most critical oil export hub, handling 90% of the country’s crude exports, and the main loading point for supertankers. The bulk of Iran’s oil comes from the mainland via multiple pipelines. The targets were naval mine storage facilities, missile storage facilities and bunkers, air defenses, Kharq Airport, radar site, and other military sites. DoD says that 90 military targets on the island were struck.
Drone and Missile Operations
Iranian Naval Drones and the Strait of Hormuz. Drone boats are using encryption and frequency-hopping in the critical shipping lane when conducting attacks. Iran’s new Supreme Leader pledges to continue targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow water passageway between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf is only 21 miles wide in some locations. The explosive drone boats (National Security Info) can be programmed with way points or be controlled by remote control. Iran is allowing the ships of some countries to pass through the strait – probably China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Turkey. The closing of the strait has spiked oil prices and destabilized the global energy markets. “Iran deploys explosive ‘suicide skiffs’ disguised as fishing boats in the Strait of Hormuz”, Fox News, March 13, 2026.
Iranian missile activity has significantly declined due to strikes on launchers, staging areas, and production infrastructure.
U.S. Naval Escorts for the Strait of Hormuz? The use of U.S. naval escorts to accompany commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz could prove costly and risky. Using ground troops to secure the Iranian coastline is also very problematic, and could embroil the U.S. in a long conflict. Negotiating with Iran to open the strait could possibly leave the current regime in place and nuclear material in its possession. Over the past two days there have not been any confirmed vessel attacks in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or the Gulf of Oman. “Hegseth, Trump face perilous options in the Strait of Hormuz”, The Hill, March 14, 2026.
U.S. Embassy Baghdad Attacked. Either a drone, rocket, or missile attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq on March 13, 2026. The attackers were likely Iranian-backed Shia militias.
ATP 3-01.81. Some timely reading would be Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) Operations, U.S. Army, May 2025, PDF, 106 pages. It is 58 pages longer than the 2017 edition. Read online or download.
Naval Operations
The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), embarked with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is deploying to the Middle East from WESTPAC. The Navy vessels, formed around the USS Tripoli (LHA 7), are departing from Okinawa, Japan. The group includes the USS New Orleans and USS San Diego. It is bringing amphibious landing craft, F-35 fighter jets, V-22 Ospreys, and about 2,500 Marines. The U.S. has about twelve ships in the Arabian Sea including the USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers. The ARG is probably a week or more away from reaching the conflict area. As of Saturday night it had entered the South China Sea. (map, NSI)
Marine Expeditionary Units or MEUs are forward deployed on Navy ships and are often first to arrive at a crisis. MEUs consist of approximately 2,200 Marines and are commanded by a Colonel. MEUs are composed of a Battalion Landing Team; a Composite Helicopter Squadron; and a Combat Logistics Battalion.
The 31st MEU just recently finished up a training called Exercise Iron Fist 26 that was conducted from February 23 through March 9, 2026. The training was conducted with Japanese forces, the U.S. Navy, and other units of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Ground Operations
Boots on the Ground? SOF? Dr. Brent M. Eastwood examines the options for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. One consideration is the use of special operations forces (SOF). They “could take and hold some territory and then venture along the coastline to eliminate launchers and the drone and missile supply”. Read his article in “Boots on the Ground in Iran: One Way to Keep the Strait of Hormuz Open”, 1945, March 13, 2026.
Ground Fires Attack Iranian Targets. Marines and Army soldiers have been using their long-range weapons – HIMARS, ATACMS, and PRISMS to attack Iranian targets. Army ATACMS have sunk multiple ships, including a submarine. The top photo of this article is a U.S.-made HIMARS firing from a Gulf nation striking targets in Iran.
Reports in the media indicate that Israel may expand its ground campaign in Lebanon to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani River. Additional Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are moving to the border area.
Miscellaneous Topics
MC-02 Exercise – Iran Wins! In 2002, Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) held a huge simulation exercise called Millennium Challenge 2002 involving all branches of service. The scenario was a ‘forced-entry’ of U.S. forces into Iran using technology five years into the future (2007). 80% of the exercise was a CPX and 20% was a field exercise in several locations across the United States. There were 13,500 participants and numerous live and simulated events. The Red Team, playing the role of Opposing Forces (OPFOR) against the Blue Team (U.S.), adopted asymmetric tactics that achieved great success. These tactics involved using missiles from land-based units, civilian boats, and low-flying planes at the same time that explosive-laden suicide speedboats decimated the U.S. naval fleet as it entered the Persian Gulf. Read about it Millennium Challenge 2002. (National Security Info)
Regional Countries Under Attack. Iran is attacking a number of Gulf states as well as other regional countries. Its intent is likely to signal the risks of close alignment with the U.S. and Israel. In addition to the Gulf states that host U.S. military installations, it has attacked Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus. Read more in “The Dynamics You Aren’t Watching: Iran’s Campaign Across Its Peripheries”, Intelbrief, The Soufan Center, March 13, 2026.
Cyber Warfare Role. Cyber warfare was an important part of the opening of Operation Epic Fury. Cyber supported pre-strike intelligence preparation, surveillance through hacking cameras, disruption of communications, and more. “What role has cyber warfare played in Iran?”, BBC, March 11, 2026.
Iran War Funding Request. The U.S. attack on Iran is costing billions of dollars. Congress will soon be coming up with a supplemental funding package to replenish U.S. weapon stockpiles and bolster defense abroad. The first week cost roughly $12 billion. The Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the House and there are some conservative fiscal hawks to deal with. The Senate may be even more difficult for passage of a supplemental funding bill. “Inevitable Iran funding request sets up another big clash in the Capitol”, The Hill, March 13, 2026.
Analysis and Opinion
Regime Change? Nancy A. Youssef provides us with her thoughts on the Iran War. Regime change appears a lost cause, so what endgame are the U.S. and Israel pursuing? “The Iran War Has Four Stages. We’re in the Second”, The Atlantic, March 12, 2026. (subscription)
Strategic Options for the Iran War. Joe Funderburke writes that despite tactical and operational success in its relentless bombing and cruise missile campaigns there have been some significant setbacks. These include the widening of the war to the Gulf states, the missile strike on the girls school killing 175, and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Funderburke argues that the U.S. is prosecuting the war with only one instrument of national power – military force. On the other hand, Iran is using all five instruments of military power. That transforms military success at the tactical and operational level into strategic failure. His article outlines steps the senior leaders (President, National Security Council, and others) in the areas of diplomatic, informational, economic, and legal environments. He suggests some options. “The Strategy We Are Not Prosecuting: Options for Senior Leaders in the Iran War”,Small Wars Journal, May 13, 2026.
Bury the Nuclear Material. How realistic is it to for SOF to go on the ground in Iran, find the enriched uranium, and take it out of Iran? All the while fighting off numerous Iranian ground forces? Not so much. The chances of that happening is as much as Iran establishing a liberal democracy tomorrow morning. Explore what happens to the hundreds of kilograms of uranium enriched to 605 buried under hundreds of tons of reinforced concrete and granite rock. Oded Ailam is a former head of the Counterterrorism Division in the Mossad and is currently a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA). Read his fix for this ‘wicked problem’ in “Why Iran’s Uranium Should be Left Buried Underground”, JCFA, March 15, 2026.
A Region Headed for Wider Conflict. America’s allies in the Middle East are worried. They realize that President Trump’s attention span is short and his mecurical nature could result leave the Gulf states in a difficult position. Isaac Chotiner explains in “How Donald Trump’s Iran War is Destabilizing the Gulf”, The New Yorker, March 11, 2026.
What Next? Lawrence Freedman looks at where the Iran War is now and says that there are two visions. One has the U.S. and Israel with complete domination of the skies over Iran. The other sees Iran holding out and the U.S. being the party that will push for a negotiated settlement. Iran is defeated in the skies, its missile and drone capability severely diminished but the regime is still in power, there control the ground, the Gulf states are under attack, and the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Read “The Split-Screen War”, SAMF Substack, March 15, 2026.
Great Powers and Strategic Folly. Fareed Zakaria, a foreign affairs columnist and CNN host, argues that attempting to rearrange the Middle East takes the U.S. away from its primary strategic goal of stemming Russia and China’s global ambitions. “Great powers do not usually fall because they are conquered by foreign armies. They fall because they overextend themselves on the periphery while neglecting the core.” Zakaria argues that the demise of the British Empire was the result of spreading itself too thin around the world. The United States is doing the same. “Iran is an imperial trap. American walked right in.” The Washington Post, March 13, 2026. (subscription)
Timeline – Operation Epic Fury
28 February: U.S. and Israel launch coordinated strikes
1 March: Iranian retaliation against Israel and regional bases
Early March: Iranian naval losses mount
Mid-March: Iranian missile launch rates decline significantly
13 March: Kharq Island struck and highest number of strikes against Iran since 28 February
Past Articles by SOF News on Operation Epic Fury
https://sof.news/tag/iran
References:
Interactive Map: U.S. and Israeli Strikes on Iran, by the Institute for the Study of War and Critical Threats.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/089bc1a2fe684405a67d67f13bd31324
ISW Daily Iran Update. The Institute for the Study of War provides a daily summary of the events taking place in the Iran War. https://understandingwar.org/analysis/middle-east/
Interactive Map: Maritime Attacks. The Washington Institute just launched a new interactive map chronicling the evolution of maritime attack methods mainly used by Iran and Yemen’s Houthis in the Middle East region since 2017. The map includes detailed descriptions of attacks and incidents, data on each vessel, and geopolitical analysis.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/menamaritime/
Iran Country Profile by National-Security.Info. Maps, reports, and references.
https://www.national-security.info/country/iran.html
Listing of U.S. Assets Employed in Operation Epic Fury in the initial strikes, by National-Security.Info
https://www.national-security.info/events/2026/operation-epic-fury.html
