THE PENTAGON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signaled prolonged U.S. military involvement in Iran on Wednesday morning, stating a surge of forces is “accelerating, not decelerating.”
Hegseth held a press conference at the Pentagon with Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to give an update on developments in the joint U.S.-Israel war with Iran and “Operation Epic Fury.”
“As President Trump said, more and larger waves are coming. We are just getting started,” Hegseth said. “We are accelerating, not decelerating. Iran’s capabilities are evaporating by the hour, while American strength grows fiercer, smarter and utterly dominant. More bombers and more fighters are arriving.”
“To our steadfast partner, Israel: Your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination,” he added. “Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force multiplier and a breath of fresh air. We salute your courage and your contribution — four days in we have only just begun to fight.”
Hegseth and Caine announced American and Israel will have “uncontested airspace” over Iran in “under a week,” which means “death and destruction from the sky, all day long” because “we’re playing for keeps.”
With the uncontested airspace, the U.S. military will start using 500-pound, 1,000-pound, and 2,000-pound “GPS- and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile,” Hegseth said.
Caine laid out some statistics regarding the first 100 hours of the campaign, showing a diminished Iranian force, and a movement of U.S. targets inland after American and Israeli forces neutralized Iran’s navy.
“Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours, and their one-way attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days,” Caine said. “This progress has allowed CENTCOM to establish localized air superiority across the southern flank of the Iranian coast and penetrate their defenses with overwhelming precision and firepower. We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory and creating additional freedom of maneuver for US forces.”
Hegseth likened U.S.-Israeli joint operation to the Iraq War, stating, “Operation Epic Fury has delivered twice the air power of Shock and Awe of Iraq in 2003,” he said, adding, “minus Paul Bremer and the nation-building.”
However, questions that remain unanswered are who will take control of Iran after all of its potential leaders or successors are dead, as Hegseth said? What would a governing coalition look like, would it be stable, and what are the conditions for ending U.S. involvement in another war in the Middle East?
Recalling the Iraq War again, Hegseth said, “This is not a ‘mission accomplished’ situation,” aware of the embarrassing speech former President George W. Bush gave on the USS Abraham Lincoln, declaring victory six weeks after the invasion. The Iraq War went on for more than eight years, killing thousands of Americans.
“This is simply a reality check. The combination of U.S. and Israeli intelligence and combat power will control Iran and will control it soon,” he continued.
Hegseth also acknowledged that, while the American defensive shield is “formidable” with “the most sophisticated air and missile defense network ever fielded,” it “does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense.”
“We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate, but when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news,” Hegseth said. “I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad, but try, for once, to report the reality the terms of this war will be set by us at every step.”
While there have been questions about the American military’s capability of lasting in a long war, particularly with regard to munition supplies, Hegseth said, “We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.”
Caine, pointedly, said, “I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions. We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.”
“As a matter of practice, I don’t want to be talking about quantities, and I know there’s been a great debate about that, and I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter,” he said.
