Iran’s military capabilities still pose a threat to the U.S., Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the nominee to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command, told senators on Tuesday.

“They possess considerable tactical capability, one element of which we saw yesterday, which we thwarted in defense of al Udeid air base,” he warned. “We’ve got to be in a three-point stance, ready to go every single day.”

Recommended Stories

• Iran intends to restart nuclear program, nuclear official vows
• Trump livid his ceasefire is violated: ‘They don't know what the f*** they're doing’
• Iran attack on Qatar air base was designed as an 'off-ramp' to conflict with US

Cooper’s comments on Tuesday during his nomination hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee came less than 72 hours after the U.S. military conducted a significant attack targeting three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, which prompted the Iranians to fire short and medium-range ballistic missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar, though they told the U.S. ahead of time as to not incur a heavy U.S. response.

In the hours that followed the Iranians attack on al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire to end their 12-day conflict, though he criticized both sides on Tuesday morning for their last-second attacks threatening to derail the agreement.

The Iranians’ ability to conduct the attack on al Udeid Air Base, even with little intent for escalation, and their attack on Israel right before the ceasefire commenced, demonstrated their remaining capabilities, even though they have been weakened.

Cooper said the same sentiments are applicable to many of its proxies in the region, which Israeli and U.S. forces have fought over the past year and a half.

“I would agree the proxies are significantly degraded, particularly Hamas and Hezbollah. If confirmed, it would be a priority of mine to deter conflict through both the deterrence of Iran and those proxies, I think we’re going to have to continue to watch them very closely,” he told senators. “While those two proxies have been degraded, we still have the Iranian-aligned militia groups that are out there, as well as the Houthis, currently in a ceasefire with us.”

The Israelis went after Hamas in Gaza following their Oct. 7, 2023, attack that destabilized the region. In the aftermath of the attack, Hezbollah began attacking Israel from the north, and in the weeks that followed, Iraqi and Syrian-based militias started attacking U.S. bases in the Middle East, while the Houthis sought to shut down shipping through the Red Sea.

Israel ultimately invaded southern Lebanon to target Hezbollah. The U.S. military carried out operations against the militias, which killed three U.S. service members in a January 2024 attack, and carried out a seven-week-long operation against the Houthis in Yemen in spring 2025.

The U.S. and the Houthis agreed to end their fighting, but the deal did not end Israel-Houthi attacks.

“I would argue, from my time and my current role on the joint staff and previous time in Central Command, that the Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem that we’ll be dealing with in the future a few times again,” said Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who was testifying along with Cooper. Grynkewich is nominated to serve as Commander of U.S. European Command and to be the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces.

Iran lost another key ally in Bashar al-Assad, the now former dictator of Syria, whose regime collapsed in December. His fall was a significant blow for the Iranians, who had a land route to supply and support Hezbollah, which had been its largest proxy before the eruption of conflict, through Iraq and Syria.

WHAT WOULD VICTORY LOOK LIKE FOR ISRAEL OVER IRAN?

“Stability in Syria can translate into security in the United States and here’s how those dots connect,” Cooper added. “ISIS thrives in chaos. If the government of Syria, now seven months into their existence, can help suppress that ISIS threat, along with the U.S. forces in the region – that stability helps create our own security.”