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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine are holding a news briefing Tuesday morning as airstrikes continued in the Middle East.
Caine said the U.S. military had struck more than 5,000 targets so far, and that ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran had resulted in a 90% reduction in the Islamic Republic’s missile launches against Israel and Persian Gulf allies.
He identified three military objectives: continue destroying missiles and drone capability; striking the Iranian navy and targeting Iran’s military and industrial base.
Iran on Tuesday launched new attacks at Gulf Arab countries, while Israeli strikes also hit southern and eastern Lebanon, amid concerns in the U.S. about being embroiled in a long-term conflict.
But Hegseth said that “this is not 2003, this is not endless nation-building under those types of quagmires we saw under Bush or Obama.”
“Our generation understands this fight,” Hegseth said at the opening of the briefing. “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, now they race toward a nuclear bomb to hold the world hostage.”
Hegseth said Iranian leaders are “desperate, scrambling,” and that the U.S. and its allies are “winning.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told PBS News on Monday that the country is prepared to continue attacking Israel “with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes.”
Seven American service members have died in the war. Caine said the Joint Force remains “eternally grateful for your sacrifice and the gift of a great example that your service members have given all of us.”
President Trump told CBS News on Monday that he believes the “war is very complete, pretty much,” adding that “there’s nothing left in a military sense.”
But despite Mr. Trump’s messaging, the Defense Department posted a video on social media with the caption “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.”
In an interview with 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, Hegseth said Mr. Trump’s comments that the U.S. will only accept unconditional surrender means “we’re fightin’ to win. It means we set the terms.”
“This is war. This is conflict. This is bringing your enemy to their knees. Now, whether they will have a ceremony in Tehran Square and surrender, that’s up to them,” Hegseth said.
Mr. Trump also floated the possibility of “taking over” the Strait of Hormuz if Iran blocks the waterway, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply flows. Oil prices swung wildly on Monday amid the uncertainty in the Middle East, rising at one point to $119 a barrel, the highest price since 2022 amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
