On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth staunchly supported the U.S.-Israeli military actions against Iran, asserting that the extensive ongoing offensive is a crucial countermeasure to nuclear threats and terrorism. These developments come as the conflict appears to be expanding across the Middle East.
Hegseth emphasized, “We did not initiate this war, but under President Trump’s leadership, we will be the ones to conclude it. Their aggression towards Americans has led to our decisive actions against the ayatollah and his regime.”
The defense chief pledged that the military campaign would effectively dismantle Tehran’s ability to fire missiles at Western allies and hinder its nuclear ambitions.
“Our strikes are precise, overwhelming, and without apology,” Hegseth stated confidently.
General Dan Caine, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined the military’s goal to “curtail Iran’s ability to exert influence beyond its borders,” while acknowledging that the conflict is far from over.
“This mission is just at its inception,” Caine remarked.
The Pentagon press conference amounted to the first public accounting of the war by senior Trump administration officials.
Trump says the war aims to topple the Islamic republic that has ruled Iran for nearly a half-century but has offered little or no explanation of how regime change might take place or what might come next.
Hegseth cryptically denied the attack amounted to a “regime change war” but boasted that the “regime sure did change.”
Trump, who was expected to speak later Monday, has mostly avoided the public eye since ordering the start of attacks on Iran.
At least four American service members have been killed as of early Monday. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes in a sign of the unpredictability of the conflict.
Iran and allied militants fired missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets around the region on Monday, while Israel and the United States pounded Iran as the conflict expanded to several fronts.
The intensity of the U.S. and Israeli attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan suggests the conflict might not end anytime soon.
The global impact of the conflict came into stark view as the new week started.
Previously safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire, stranding hundreds of thousands of airline passengers. Oil prices shot up and stock markets dipped.
Iran has long threatened, if attacked, to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets.
The American political implications of the war remain very unclear. Although public opinion usually rallies behind a president during wartime, Trump’s failure to seek consensus about a new battle in the Middle East has left early opinion sharply divided.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said House Democrats would seek to force a vote on a war powers resolution, which he said is required under the Constitution.
He questioned why American service members are dying in a battle with an enemy that didn’t pose any imminent threat.
“They’re starting a war that we all know will not end well,” said Jeffries, the House minority leader. “We still haven’t been provided any rationale for this potential endless war.”
