U.S. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday gave a full-throated protection of america’ actions within the escalating struggle with Iran in the course of the Protection Division’s first detailed briefing for the reason that operation started on Saturday. Hegseth, who appeared alongside Joint Chiefs of Employees Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, pushed again on early critiques of the struggle, which was launched with out congressional approval and amid ongoing diplomatic talks with Iran.
“We didn’t begin this struggle, however underneath President [Donald] Trump, we’re ending it,” Hegseth mentioned, accusing Iran of waging a “savage, one-sided struggle in opposition to America” for 47 years.
“They didn’t at all times declare it overtly, besides for his or her fixed chants of ‘demise to America.’ They did it via the blood of our folks, automobile bombs in Beirut, rocket assaults on our ships, murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, funded and armed by Iranian Quds Pressure and IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] killers,” Hegseth mentioned.
Hegseth’s characterization of who began the struggle is fake. Whereas there isn’t a doubt that there have been years of tensions between Washington and Tehran which have led to each direct and oblique hostilities—and hundreds of U.S. troops are estimated to have been killed by Iran-backed militias in Iraq—the primary photographs within the present battle have been fired by america and Israel.
The Pentagon chief additionally steered that Iran was not critical about diplomacy with america over its nuclear program. “Tehran was not negotiating,” Hegseth mentioned. “They have been stalling, shopping for time to reload their missile stockpiles and restart their nuclear ambitions. Their objective: maintain us hostage, threatening to strike our forces. President Trump doesn’t play these video games.”
On that final level, Hegseth’s declare once more seems to be false, as Trump administration officers reportedly told members of Congress that there was no intelligence suggesting that Iran deliberate to strike U.S. forces first.
Hegseth additionally denied that the struggle was about regime change. “This isn’t a so-called regime change struggle, however the regime certain did change, and the world is healthier off for it,” Hegseth declared, in an obvious reference to the demise of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an Israeli strike on Saturday.
However Trump has overtly endorsed regime change from the second that he introduced the operation. In a video assertion posted on Saturday, Trump mentioned, “To the good proud folks of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. … Take over your authorities.”
Later in Monday’s briefing whereas taking questions, Hegseth additionally echoed this name from Trump. “I feel the message the president has given has been clear: To the folks of Iran, that is your second,” he mentioned.
The briefing got here amid open questions on Trump’s endgame within the struggle, on prime of criticism that the operation—together with different navy actions taken by the president—undermines his marketing campaign pledge of “no new wars.” Trump had vowed to maintain america out of “ceaselessly wars” and nation-building conflicts corresponding to these in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However Hegseth rejected any recommendations that the brand new battle is akin to the struggle in Iraq. “To the media shops and political left screaming ‘infinite wars!’ Cease. This isn’t Iraq. This isn’t infinite. I used to be there for each. Our era is aware of higher, and so does this president. He referred to as the final 20 years of nation-building wars ‘dumb.’ And he’s proper. That is the alternative,” he mentioned. Hegseth is a former infantry officer within the U.S. Military Nationwide Guard who served in each Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hegseth mentioned america’ goals within the struggle are to destroy the Iranian missile menace and navy and be sure that the nation can by no means acquire a nuclear weapon—an ambition that Tehran has lengthy denied having. Throwing chilly water on this notion, Hegseth mentioned that “peaceable nuclear ambitions don’t should be buried beneath mountains,” alluding to the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordow, which was among those targeted last June.
The Pentagon chief was clear that the Trump administration is not going to remorseful about its method to this struggle. “No silly guidelines of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building train, no politically appropriate wars. We combat to win, and we don’t waste time or lives,” Hegseth mentioned.
Caine appeared so as to add one more, arguably extra formidable objective of the struggle effort, saying that the U.S. navy goals are “to guard and defend ourselves, and along with our regional companions, stop Iran from the power to challenge energy outdoors of its borders.”
4 U.S. service members have to this point been killed within the struggle, nicknamed Operation Epic Fury, which Hegseth and Caine each acknowledged. “They’re heroes and characterize the perfect our nation has to supply,” Caine mentioned.
“We anticipate to take further losses, and as at all times, we’ll work to reduce U.S. losses,” Caine added, emphasizing that this “is just not a single, in a single day operation” and in “some circumstances” will contain “troublesome and gritty work.” The highest U.S. common mentioned that extra troops are being deployed to the area, although he didn’t supply particular numbers.
Hegseth supplied some new particulars on the circumstances that led to the deaths of U.S. service members, revealing that the troops have been killed when a munition struck a tactical operations heart. Stories have steered that the fatalities occurred in Kuwait, although Hegseth didn’t specify a location.
“We have now unbelievable air defenders. Each occasionally, you may need one, sadly—we name it a ‘squirter’—that makes its means via,” Hegseth mentioned. “And in that specific case, it occurred to hit a tactical operations heart that was fortified, however these are highly effective weapons.”
In the meantime, Caine additionally touched on the unintended downing of three U.S. fighter jets by Kuwaiti air defenses. “I’m conscious of the lack of three U.S. F-15Es in a single day within the area,” Caine mentioned. “I’m grateful for the security of the crews, and we all know it was not from hostile enemy fireplace.”
Notably, Hegseth wouldn’t rule out boots on the bottom throughout Monday’s briefing, at the same time as a few of Trump’s prime Republican allies in Congress who’ve been cheerleading the operation—corresponding to Sen. Lindsey Graham—proceed to suggest that doing so wouldn’t be needed
“We’re not going into the train of [saying] what we’ll or is not going to do,” Hegseth mentioned. “President Trump ensures that our enemies perceive we’ll go so far as we have to go to advance American pursuits.”
Hegseth added, “However we’re not dumb about it. You don’t need to roll 200,000 folks in there and keep 20 years.”
In comments to the New York Submit on Monday, Trump additionally wouldn’t rule out sending troops into Iran. “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the bottom — like each president says, ‘There will probably be no boots on the bottom.’ I don’t say it,” Trump mentioned. “I say ‘most likely don’t want them,’ [or] ‘in the event that they have been needed.’”
Throughout Monday’s briefing, Caine additionally supplied new particulars on how the U.S. navy ready for the operation, stating that features of the assault have been the results of months and years of deliberate planning. He mentioned that over the previous 30 days, america built up its military presence within the area “to strengthen deterrence and supply the president with credible choices ought to motion be required.”
Trump gave the order for Operation Epic Fury on Friday afternoon, the highest U.S. common mentioned, and the “first movers have been U.S. Cybercom [Cyber Command] and U.S. Spacecom [Space Command], layering nonkinetic results, disrupting and degrading and blinding Iran’s potential to see, talk, and reply.”
The operation itself started round 1:15 a.m. ET (9:45 a.m. in Tehran) on Saturday. “The skies surged to life,” Caine mentioned. “Greater than 100 plane launched from land, sea—fighters, tankers, airborne early warning, digital assault, bombers from the [United] States and unmanned platforms—forming a single synchronized wave.”
Greater than 1,000 targets have been hit within the first 24 hours of the operation, Caine mentioned, with the preliminary part targeted on Iranian command-and-control websites, naval forces, ballistic missile websites, and intelligence infrastructure. Just like Operation Midnight Hammer, which noticed america hit Iran’s key nuclear services final June, Caine mentioned that B-2 stealth bombers have been additionally concerned and flew 37-hour missions to strike underground services with penetrating munitions.
The operation has killed quite a few prime Iranian leaders along with the supreme chief, however the regime has vowed to pick a substitute for Khamenei. Although Trump has expressed a willingness to have interaction in diplomacy, his administration has supplied fluctuating assessments on how lengthy the struggle might final.
Trump steered on Sunday that the operation might go on for 4 weeks. Addressing this on Monday, Hegseth mentioned, “Trump has all of the latitude on the earth to speak about how lengthy it could or might not take. 4 weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It might transfer up. It might transfer again.”
In his feedback to the New York Submit on Monday, Trump mentioned that the operation is “going to go fairly rapidly.”
“We’re proper on schedule, means forward of schedule when it comes to management — 49 killed — and that was, , going to take, we figured, not less than 4 weeks, and we did it in at some point,” Trump mentioned.
