US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran will face the “largest strike package” again, asserting the Gulf war will end on US terms. He claimed major damage to Iran’s military capabilities and vowed to continue operations until objectives are fully achieved.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said Iran will face the “largest strike package” again, asserting that the ongoing Gulf war will end on America’s terms and that Washington remains committed to completing its mission.
The defence secretary said the US military has struck more than 7,000 targets in Iran so far and that Thursday would see the “largest strike package” yet, similar to the previous day. “Our capabilities continue to build, Iran’s continue to degrade,” he said, adding that Iran’s air defence systems have been “flattened.”
Beginning his briefing, Hegseth said he and President Donald Trump were present on Wednesday as the remains of US soldiers killed in the Iran war were brought back home. He added that families of the deceased service members urged the administration to ensure they “do not stop until the job is done.”
“Of course, we
will finish this. We will honour their sacrifice,” Hegseth said.SLAMS MEDIA OVER PROLONGED WAR CONCERNS
SLAMS MEDIA OVER PROLONGED WAR CONCERNS
Addressing the American public directly, Hegseth pushed back against criticism that the conflict risks becoming a prolonged war. He accused sections of the media of portraying the situation as “an endless abyss” or a “forever war,” insisting “nothing could be further from the truth.”
US OBJECTIVES ARE ‘ON PLAN’
He stressed that US objectives in Iran have remained unchanged “since Day 1,” and are “on target and on plan.” According to Hegseth, these objectives include destroying missile launchers, dismantling Iran’s defence-industrial base, neutralising its navy, and ensuring that “Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.”
Hegseth also claimed that Iranian ballistic missile and one-way drone attacks against US forces have dropped by 90% since the start of the conflict. He added that Iran’s ability to produce new ballistic missiles has likely been “hit hardest.”
Providing further details, Hegseth said the US has damaged or sunk at least 120 Iranian naval ships, with the surface fleet “no longer a factor” and Iran’s 11 submarines “gone.”
