Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth affirmed that there are currently no American troops stationed in Iran, but added that the U.S. “would go as far as we need to go.” Hegseth refrained from commenting on whether the U.S. intends to deploy troops in Iran in the future.
In a press conference at the Pentagon on Monday, the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said, “The military operation conducted by the U.S. against Iran, referred to as “Epic Fury,” is not expected to conclude “overnight." The senior officials further refrained from providing a precise timeline for the significant joint bombing initiative with Israel.
"To be clear ... this is not a single overnight operation," Caine stated. “The military objectives CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work.”
"We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses," the top U.S. general said in the wake of the deaths of four U.S. service members.
{{/usCountry}}"We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses," the top U.S. general said in the wake of the deaths of four U.S. service members.
{{/usCountry}}The briefing represented the first occasion on which high-ranking officials from the Trump administration publicly outlined the current combat operations and responded to inquiries from journalists since the hostilities commenced on Saturday.
Hegseth says war could last for more than four weeks
President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that the conflict might extend for approximately four weeks. Hegseth refrained from providing further details, stating that he would "never hang a time frame" on the operation.
“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 remarked.
Iran vows to defend nation
On Monday, Iran's security chief declared that the Islamic Republic would protect itself at any cost, marking the third day of conflict with the United States and Israel.
“We will fiercely defend ourselves and our six thousand years old civilization regardless of the costs and will make the enemies sorry for their miscalculation,” stated Ali Larijani, the well-know leader of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a post on X.
Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks. He was 86.