The nominee for commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that Iran maintains"significant tactical capabilities" despite damage to its military infrastructure.

Cooper's remarks came during a hearing in the US Senate on Tuesday, in response to a question about his assessment of the state of the Iranian armed forces.

Cooper noted that Iran demonstrated an element of its capabilities during the attack on the US Al Udeid base in Qatar on June 23, stressing that Iran still poses a"serious threat" to US forces in the Middle East.

Regarding the possibility of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, the nominee to lead CENTCOM said that US forces would have detected any attempts to place mines in the strait's waters if Tehran had done so, adding:"We have a good understanding of what that looks like, and we're watching them closely, and we would have known about it."

He stressed that the United States has sufficient capabilities to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if it is closed by laying mines.