Hegseth says that Tuesday is the “most difficult day” of the US attack on Iran, Trump to decide the “end phase”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth he said Tuesday would be the “toughest day” of strikes against Iran so far, and that “finally” President Trump “gets to decide the last phase of those targets” in the Islamic Republic.
“Today will again be our most intense day of strikes in Iran – more fighting, more bombings, more strikes,” Hegseth said at a press conference.
Dan Caine, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US military has attacked more than 5,000 targets since the start of the war and that the ongoing US and Israeli strikes in Iran have led to a decrease in the Islamic Republic’s missile fire against Israel and the Persian Gulf.
Caine, speaking at a news conference, identified three military goals: continuing to destroy missile and drone capabilities; attacking Iran’s navy and targeting Iran’s military and industrial base.
Iran on Tuesday launched a new attack on the Gulf Arab states, while Israeli strikes also hit southern and eastern Lebanon, amid concerns in the US about involvement in the long-term conflict. The stated timeline of the conflict is inconsistent.
But Hegseth said “this isn’t 2003, this isn’t the kind of perpetual nation-building under the rocks that we saw under Bush or Obama.”
“Our generation understands this war,” said Hegseth when he opened the forum. “For 47 years, these intellectuals in the Iranian regime have killed my brothers with weapons, my boys, your boys, our boys, with their terrorist and cowardly attacks, and now they are running towards a nuclear bomb to take over the world.”
Hegseth said Iran’s leaders are “desperate, they are scornful,” and that the US and its allies are “winning.”
Hegseth, asked about reports of being named Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei injured, and said his condition “is not something I can comment on right now.”
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named Iran’s new supreme leader after his father was killed on the first day of the US-Israeli strikes. Mr. Trump told Fox News that he was “not happy” with the nomination of Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, adding, “I don’t believe he can live in peace.”
Seven American service members died in the war. Caine said the Joint Force remains “eternally grateful for your sacrifice and the exemplary gift your service members have given us all.”
Mr. Trump told CBS News on Monday that he believes “the war is very, very complete,” adding that “there is nothing left in the military sense.”
But despite the message of Mr. Trump, the Department of Defense posted a video on social media with the caption “We have only Begun to Fight.”
In an interview with 60 Minutes aired on Sunday, Hegseth said Mr. Trump saying the US will only accept unconditional surrender means “we are fighting to win. It means we are setting goals.”
“This is a war. This is a conflict. This is bringing your enemy to their knees. Now, whether they will have a ceremony in Tehran Square and surrender, that is up to them,” said Hegseth.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told PBS News on Monday that the country is willing to continue attacking Israel “with our missiles as long as necessary and as long as it takes.”
Mr. Trump has indicated that he may “take over” the Strait of Hormuz if Iran blocks the waterway, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows. Oil prices were volatile on Monday amid uncertainty in the Middle East, rising at one point to $119 a barrel, the highest since 2022 amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
