The United States launched the operation to halt what officials described as Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons and its ability to threaten the American homeland. According to Hegseth, the latest phase of the campaign involves an increased pace of airstrikes across multiple targets inside Iran.
“Today will be, yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” Hegseth said during a press briefing today at the Pentagon. “The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes; intelligence more refined and better than ever. So, that’s on one hand. On the other hand, the last 24 hours have seen Iran fire the lowest number of missiles they’ve been capable of firing yet.”
The secretary said Iran has attempted to retaliate by launching missiles at neighboring countries in the Middle East. He also accused Iranian forces of launching attacks from locations near civilian infrastructure.
“The [Iranians] are desperate and scrambling. 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,” Hegseth said. “Iran’s neighbors and in some cases former allies in the [Persian] Gulf — they’ve abandoned them.”
Hegseth also said that Iranian-backed groups in the region have been weakened or sidelined during the conflict. He added that Iran now faces the campaign largely without support from its proxy network.
“Iran stands alone, and they are badly losing,” the secretary said. “On day 10 of Operation Epic Fury, we are winning with an overwhelming and unrelenting focus on our objectives.”
The secretary said Iran’s decision to target neighboring states after the initial U.S. strikes had backfired diplomatically. According to Hegseth, several regional countries have instead chosen to cooperate more closely with Washington.
“The big mistake by the Iranian regime was to start targeting its neighbors,” Hegseth said. “I think it was a demonstration of the desperation of that regime … that they still think their pathway out is to try to alienate their Arab partners even more.”
He added that these countries have increasingly supported U.S. operations by granting access to bases and airspace. “[They have] instead decided to come to us and have been willing to go on the offense, have been giving us access, basing and overflight in a new partnership that will continue to remake the region,” Hegseth said.
U.S. military leaders say the campaign is focused on several clearly defined objectives. These include destroying Iran’s missile stockpiles, launch systems and defense industrial base, neutralizing its navy and permanently preventing the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“It’s a laser-focused maximum authority mission delivered with overwhelming and unrelenting precision,” Hegseth said.
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided operational details about the campaign’s progress. He said U.S. Central Command has conducted extensive strikes against Iranian targets since the operation began.
“To date, [U.S. Central Command has] struck more than 5,000 targets,” Caine said. “[U.S.] Strategic Command bombers recently dropped dozens of 2,000-pound GPS penetrating weapons on deeply buried missile launchers across the southern flank.”
The general also said U.S. forces have targeted Iranian drone production infrastructure. “Alongside our regional partners along the southern flank, [we] continue to execute intercepts against one-way attack drones, using fighters and attack helicopters,” he said.
According to Caine, the strikes have significantly reduced the scale of Iranian missile and drone attacks. “Our strikes mean we’ve made significant progress in reducing the number of missile and drone attacks out of Iran. Ballistic missile attacks continue to trend downward, 90% from where they started. And one-way attack drone [attacks] have decreased 83% since the beginning of the operation — a testament to our air defenders and our air defense systems.”
U.S. forces have also focused on neutralizing Iranian naval assets in the region. Caine said American forces have already destroyed a substantial number of vessels involved in maritime operations.
“We struck and sank an Iranian drone carrier ship, and U.S. Centcom continues today to hunt and strike mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities,” Caine said. “This work will continue.”
Hegseth stressed that Operation Epic Fury is intended to achieve its objectives without evolving into a prolonged military intervention. He said the operation has clearly defined goals and is not intended to become a nation-building mission.
“This is not [an] endless nation-building … quagmire — it’s not even close,” Hegseth said. “Our generation of soldiers will not let that happen again, and nor will this president — who very clearly ran against … never-ending, nebulously scoped missions; those days are dead. Instead, we’re winning decisively with brutal efficiency, total air dominance and an unbreakable will to accomplish the president’s objectives on our timeline.”
Source: United States Department of War.
