Military personnel told last month to stop calling Iran conflict “Operation Epic Fury”

Updated on: September 2, 2026 / 11:29 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — An Air Force email from August and obtained by CBS News shows the Pentagon was instructing personnel to stop referring to ongoing U.S. military operations in Iran as "Operation Epic Fury" — three months after the Trump administration declared it had ended.

In response to questions from CBS News, the Pentagon said Wednesday that Operation Epic Fury officially ended May 5, the same day Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared to reporters at the White House: "The operation is over. Epic Fury is — the president notified Congress — we're done with that stage of it. We're now on to this Project Freedom." Four days earlier, Mr. Trump told Congress the "hostilities" had "terminated."

Previously, the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command had declined to disclose the operation's formal end date for months. The U.S. and Iran have continued to exchange on-and-off fire since Operation Epic Fury's official end date, though there have been lengthy pauses in fighting, including during a ceasefire that began in early April.

But the date also raises questions about how the Pentagon categorizes service members who were killed and wounded after "Operation…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/