Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that “today will once again be the day of the heaviest attacks on Iranian soil.”
“Iran is isolated and suffering a crushing defeat on Day 10 of Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon alongside Gen. Dan Cain, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Hegseth said that in the past 24 hours, the United States had seen “the lowest number of missiles that Iran has ever been able to fire,” and accused Iran of attacking Gulf states without provocation from them, some of which were allies in the past.
He vowed to the press on Tuesday that the United States would send “the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes” against Iran to achieve three military goals:
These goals are to destroy Iran’s missile stockpile and missile manufacturing capabilities, he said. “Destroy their navy.” and “Forever deny Iran a nuclear weapon.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference on U.S. military operations in Iran at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
“We are crushing our enemies by demonstrating overwhelming technological and military power,” he said. “We will not relent until the enemy is completely and decisively defeated.”
But he also said the Trump administration would not get bogged down in so-called nation-building efforts like the Bush and Obama administrations did during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hegseth’s aggressive and confident comments echoed those made by President Donald Trump to reporters at a Miami-area golf club the day before.
President Trump predicted the war would end “soon” when the U.S. and Israeli attacks began on February 28, as the destruction of Iranian military assets was proceeding much faster than expected.
He also warned Iran’s ruling regime against withholding oil from the world market after the war.
“If Iran does anything to stop the flow of oil in the Strait of Hormuz, it will receive 20 times more damage from the United States,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Monday night.
Hegseth initially predicted the war could last three to eight weeks, but told reporters on Tuesday that President Trump “has now been able to control the accelerator” of the pace of the war, adding that the president “is the one who decides when to accomplish certain goals.”
“So I can’t say whether that’s the beginning, the middle or the end,” Hegseth said. “It’s his and he’ll keep passing it on.”
As Hegseth spoke, authorities in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, confirmed that an Iranian drone attack caused a fire at a refinery in the Ruwais Industrial Park. No injuries were immediately reported.
President Trump said in a Fox News interview Monday night that he was “not happy” with Iran’s choice of Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, replacing his father, Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war.
President Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei, “I don’t think he can live in peace.”
President Trump also told Fox that there was “a possibility” he would be open to dialogue with Iranian leaders.
“I hear they want to say bad things,” he said.
“It would be wise to listen to the president and not pursue nuclear weapons,” Hegseth said of Khamenei at a press conference on Tuesday.
