Channeling the raw power of the American military might that is pounding Iranian targets, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told the media Monday that Iran is getting what it deserves.
In a media briefing Monday, Hegseth said for “47 long years,” Iran conducted a “savage, one sided war against America,” according to the Guardian.
“The blood of our people, car bombs in Beirut, rocket attacks on our ships, murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan,” attest to that, he said.
“We didn’t start this war, but under president Trump, we are finishing it,” Hegseth said.
LIVE: @SecWar and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, hold a press briefing at the Pentagon. https://t.co/PaA7POQsL5
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 2, 2026
In a video posted to X, Hegseth said President Donald Trump is doing what he promised — preventing Iran from holding the world hostage to its terrorism-fueled ambitions.
.@SecWar: “@POTUS has also been very consistent: crazy regimes like Iran, hellbent on prophetic Islamist delusions cannot have nuclear weapons… many have said it, but it takes guts to actually enforce it—and our president has guts.” pic.twitter.com/WV6jZ3RzWy
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 2, 2026
“President Trump has also been very consistent: Crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons. It’s common sense. Many have said it, but it takes guts to actually enforce it, and our president has guts,” he said.
Hegseth said Operation Epic Fury will “destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons. We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically.”
During the briefing, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said American reinforcements will reach the Middle East today.
“This rapid buildup of forces demonstrated the joint forces’ ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of our nation’s choosing,” he said.
Caine said that despite the deaths of four service members in the opening phase of the operation, the U.S. has gained “air superiority” that will “not only enhance the protection of our forces, but also allow them to continue the work over Iran.”
Hegseth warned that with the entire Middle East as a battleground, the operation will not be quick or easy.
“This is a big battle space with a lot of capabilities. That’s part of the reason why it’s such a threat to us,” he added.
“President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take: four weeks, two weeks, six weeks, it could move up. It could move back,” he said.
“We’re going to execute, at his command, the objectives we’ve set out to achieve,” he said.
Hegseth said an endless war is not in the cards.
“We’re ensuring the mission gets accomplished,” Hegeth said. “But we are very clear-eyed, as the president has been, unlike other presidents, about the foolish policies of the past that recklessly pulled us in to things that were not tethered to actual, clear objectives. We know, we have plans … but we would never, in front of a press pool, lay out how long that may take.”
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