The Pentagon says US forces have hit more than 3,000 Iranian targets in just seven days, as Operation Epic Fury explodes into one of the most intense bombing campaigns of the 21st century and drags the entire Middle East to the brink.

US Central Command officials briefed that a “rolling 24/7 strike rhythm” by B‑52, B‑1 and B‑2 bombers, carrier jets, submarines and destroyers has pounded ballistic‑missile fields, underground “missile cities,” drone hubs, naval bases and Revolutionary Guard command bunkers from the Gulf coast to Iran’s central deserts.

Leaked satellite imagery shows scorched airbases, crumpled radar sites and entire industrial blocks turned into smoking craters. Military planners boast that key nodes of Iran’s long‑range strike network have been “degraded by decades in a week,” claiming hundreds of launchers, depots and command posts are now out of action.

Tehran tells a different story. State media insists missiles and Shahed‑class drones are still being fired “on schedule,” while images from Iranian cities reveal hospitals overflowing, fuel lines lengthening and neighbourhoods rocked by nearby blasts. Officials accuse Washington of waging “total war” under the guise of self‑defence.

Allies are watching nervously. Oil prices are spiking, shipping insurers are edging away from Hormuz, and European diplomats warn that a campaign measured in thousands of targets can no longer be sold as a “limited operation.”

As another night of Epic Fury begins, one question now dominates war rooms and trading floors alike: is this brutal first week the shock that forces Iran to back down — or the opening chapter of a grinding air war that no one truly knows how to end?