War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Iran’s military power is “being systematically degraded and annihilated” as Operation Epic Fury entered its tenth day, declaring the campaign will end “on our timeline and at our choosing” while forcefully pushing back against suggestions it could devolve into another prolonged Middle East conflict.
Speaking during a Pentagon briefing alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, Hegseth outlined battlefield progress while stressing the military operation ordered by President Donald Trump remains tightly focused on specific objectives aimed at dismantling Iran’s ability to threaten the United States and its allies.
Hegseth framed the conflict as deeply personal, recalling his own experience confronting Iranian-backed militias during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“As someone who led troops in the streets of Baghdad and Samarra and trained counterinsurgents in Kabul — and who still carries the weight of brothers lost to Iranian terrorist proxies — this fight hits home,” he said.
“Our generation understands this fight.”
He pointed to the Iranian regime’s decades-long record of backing militant groups responsible for attacks that killed and maimed American troops.
“For 47 years, these barbaric savages in the Iranian regime have murdered our brothers in arms — my guys, your guys, our guys — through their terrorist proxies and cowardly attacks,” Hegseth said.
“Now they race toward a nuclear bomb to hold the world hostage.”
“That race to a nuclear bomb — President Trump will never allow it. Not now, not ever, not on our watch.”
‘The Mullahs Are Desperate and Scrambling’
Hegseth said sustained U.S. and allied strikes are dismantling Iran’s military infrastructure while exposing the regime’s desperation.
“The mullahs are desperate and scrambling,” he said.
“Like the terrorist cowards they are, they fire missiles from schools and hospitals, deliberately targeting innocents because they know their military is being systematically degraded and annihilated.”
He also noted that Iran’s actions have further isolated the regime across the region.
“Iran’s neighbors — and in some cases former allies in the Gulf — have abandoned them,” Hegseth said.
“Their proxies — Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas — are either broken, ineffective, or on the sidelines.”
“Iran stands alone,” he added. “And they are badly losing.”
“Not 2003”: No Nation-Building, No Mission Creep
Hegseth underscored that the campaign bears no resemblance to the long, open-ended wars that followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“You see, this is not 2003,” he said.
“This is not endless nation-building under those types of quagmires we saw under Bush or Obama. It’s not even close.”
“Our generation of soldiers will not let that happen again,” Hegseth added.
“Those days are dead.”
Instead, the war secretary said U.S. forces are pursuing a tightly scoped mission under Trump’s direction.
“It’s a laser-focused, maximum-authority mission delivered with overwhelming and unrelenting precision — no hesitation, no half measures,” he said.
“Our will is endless — but this war is not.”
“It’s not protracted. We’re not allowing mission creep.”
“The president has set a very specific mission to accomplish, and our job is to unrelentingly deliver that.”
War ‘Ends on Our Timeline’
Hegseth said the tempo and duration of the campaign will ultimately be determined by the commander-in-chief.
“We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated,” he said.
“But we do so on our timeline and at our choosing.”
“Our will is endless,” he added, explaining that President Trump ultimately determines when the mission’s objectives have been achieved.
“What we provide the president are daily updates so he can determine the throttle.”
The campaign’s goals, he stressed, remain tightly defined.
“The world needs to understand this isn’t intended to expand,” Hegseth said.
“We know exactly what we’re attempting to achieve here — scoped properly.”
Operational Update: Iran’s Capabilities Collapsing
Caine provided several operational updates as the campaign entered its tenth day.
U.S. and allied forces have struck more than 5,000 targets across Iran since the start of Operation Epic Fury.
Ballistic missile attacks launched from Iran have dropped 90 percent since the campaign began, he said, while one-way attack drone launches have fallen 83 percent.
U.S. forces have also inflicted major damage on Iran’s naval forces.
“In the first ten days of the conflict, we have destroyed more than 50 Iranian naval vessels,” Caine said.
American aircraft have also targeted missile launch infrastructure, drone production facilities, and key elements of Iran’s military-industrial complex.
The Power of the World’s Two Most Powerful Air Forces
Hegseth also highlighted coordination with Israel during the campaign.
“Israel has been a really strong partner in this effort,” he said.
Where the two allies have had different objectives, he noted, each has pursued them independently.
“But what Iran has felt,” Hegseth said, “is the power of the world’s two most powerful air forces.”
He pushed back on claims that the conflict is spreading across the region.
“I see media banners saying ‘war expanding’ or ‘war spreading,’” he said.
“It’s actually the opposite. The conflict remains contained.”
Warning Over Strait of Hormuz Oil Routes
Hegseth also warned that Iran would face severe consequences if it attempts to disrupt global oil shipping routes.
Referencing a Truth Social message from President Trump on Monday night, he said any attempt by Iran to block traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would trigger an overwhelming U.S. response.
“If Iran does anything to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, quoting the president, “they will be hit by the United States twenty times harder than they have been hit thus far.”
“Death, fire and fury will rain upon them.”
“We have capabilities that no other nation on earth has,” Hegseth added.
“We stay locked on the target,” he said. “Because here at the Department of War, that’s our job.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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