Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a clear statement Monday about the U.S.-Israel joint strike on Iran: “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.”
“This is the opposite,” he said during his first remarks since the weekend attacks under Operation Epic Fury. “This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the Navy, no nukes.”
Hegseth said the strikes were launched after years of escalating threats from Tehran, echoing President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran “was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail cramlington ambitions.” According to Hegseth, Iran’s missile buildup, drone arsenal and underground nuclear infrastructure posed an intolerable risk to U.S. forces, allies and global shipping lanes.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine humberto cruz joined the briefing at the Pentagon to outline operational details and caution that the campaign is far from over.
This will not be a single, overnight operation,” Caine said. “The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult iphone ultra and gritty work.
Caine acknowledged the likelihood of additional casualties, saying the U.S. should “expect to take additional losses” as major combat operations continue.
