The Trump administration's military campaign against Iran faced sharp bipartisan scrutiny at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on 15 May, as top US commanders defended the operation's gains while Democratic lawmakers warned of unresolved diplomatic and economic consequences — including the ongoing threat to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Military Claims Decisive Degradation

Admiral Charles Cooper II, appearing before the committee, defended Operation Epic Fury and asserted that US forces had successfully dismantled Iran's capacity to project military power across the Middle East. 'In less than 40 days, Centcom forces achieved our military objectives,' Cooper told lawmakers. 'We degraded Iran's ability to project power outside its borders and threaten the region and threaten our interests.'

Cooper stated that Iran's missile, drone, and naval industrial infrastructure had been degraded by nearly 90 per cent. He further claimed that Tehran's navy may not recover to its pre-conflict strength 'for a generation' — a sweeping assessment that drew both support and scepticism from senators across the aisle.

Republican Support, Democratic Pushback

Republican senators offered strong backing for the administration's campaign. Senator Roger Wicker argued that Iran had spent decades supporting terrorism, attacking US interests, and advancing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Senator Tom Cotton contended that Iran was now 'significantly less of a threat' than before the operation, a characterisation Cooper endorsed, adding that Tehran could no longer mount the kind of mass missile and drone attacks witnessed in recent years.

Democrats, however, mounted sustained challenges to the administration's strategic framework. Senator Jack Reed argued there was 'no purely military solution' to the Iranian nuclear issue and criticised what he described as an absence of 'a credible strategy to win.' Senator Tim Kaine went further, accusing the administration of abandoning diplomacy altogether. 'If you make diplomacy impossible, you will make war inevitable,' Kaine said during the hearing.

Strait of Hormuz and Economic Fallout

A significant portion of the hearing focused on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a substantial share of global oil supply passes. Lawmakers warned that disruptions were already translating into higher costs for American consumers. Cooper acknowledged that Iran retained 'some residual capability' to threaten shipping and energy infrastructure, though he maintained those capabilities had been 'dramatically degraded.' The admission underscored that the strategic waterway remains a live pressure point despite the military campaign's stated successes.

Africa Emerges as a Secondary Flashpoint

The hearing also addressed growing instability in Africa. General Dagvin Anderson warned that the continent had become 'the epicenter of global terrorism,' citing expanding ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliates across the Sahel and Somalia. Anderson also flagged rising strategic competition from China and Russia, which he said were deepening influence through infrastructure investment, military partnerships, and information operations — compounded by what he described as widening intelligence gaps across parts of the continent.

What Comes Next

The Senate hearing signals that congressional oversight of the Iran campaign is far from over. With Iran's residual capabilities still acknowledged by the military's own commanders, and the Strait of Hormuz remaining a chokepoint for global energy markets, the administration faces pressure to articulate a post-military diplomatic pathway — something critics argue has been conspicuously absent. How Washington navigates the next phase will have direct consequences for oil prices, regional alliances, and the broader question of Iranian nuclear ambitions.