Pentagon names date of Epic Fury operation’s end in Iran
The Pentagon said that the U.S. military operation Epic Fury in Iran officially ended on May 5. In August, public affairs officials were instructed to notify military leaders not to use this name to describe current U.S. operations, CBS News reports.
Guidance for military leaders
According to a U.S. Air Force email dated August 7, instead of the name Operation Epic Fury, officials were advised to use a broader wording: “overseas operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.”
As follows from the email, the guidance was issued by the Pentagon’s central public affairs office, led by the department’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell. The document also reminded officials that U.S. Central Command must approve information regarding the conflict with Iran before its release. Unnamed military officials told CBS News that the instruction was distributed not only within the Air Force but also to other U.S. Department of Defense units.
Operations after May 5
The Pentagon explained that after the April ceasefire, the U.S. administration announced the completion of Epic Fury on May 5. Subsequent activity included operations to ensure freedom of navigation and strikes aimed at reducing threats posed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping, Gulf countries, and U.S. forces.
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On the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House that the operation had ended and that the United States was moving to Project Freedom. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Project Freedom as a defensive maritime mission to protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Its current status, according to CBS News, remains unclear.
The end of Epic Fury did not mean the end of the broader confrontation with Iran. On July 7, U.S. President Donald Trump formally notified Congress of the resumption of military action against Iran. This occurred approximately around the breakdown of negotiations between the United States and Iran and after Trump’s statement that the April truce had ended.
Casualty accounting
In July, the U.S. Department of Defense website initially classified four service members who died in the Middle East as casualties during Epic Fury. They were later moved to a new “overseas operations” category, which formally reduced the number of deaths within Epic Fury from 18 to 14.
As of the publication of the report, the Defense Casualty Analysis System still listed five wounded in June and one death in July in the Operation Epic Fury category, although the Pentagon says the operation ended in May.
