- Pentagon chief warns that Iran miscalculates America’s ability to sustain war.
- He says the US campaign targets Iranian missiles, missile production and the navy.
- He says Iran is making “bad calculations” in believing the United States cannot sustain the war.
TAMPA: TAMPA: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Thursday that Iran was making a serious miscalculation if it believed the United States could not sustain the ongoing war, and emphasized that Washington had the resources and determination to continue the military campaign for as long as necessary.
The Pentagon said earlier this week that the military campaign, known as Operation Epic Fury, focuses on destroying Iran’s offensive missiles, missile production and navy, without allowing Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
“There is no expansion of our goals. We know exactly what we are trying to accomplish,” Hegseth said.
He added that Trump was “having a lot to say about who runs Iran given the ongoing operation.”
In a telephone interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump said the United States would have to help choose the next person to lead the country.
The US and Israeli military campaign that began Saturday hit targets across the country and triggered Iranian retaliatory attacks in the region, as Tehran seeks to impose a heavy cost on the United States, Israel and their allies.
Iran has attacked countries such as Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Bahrain firefighters extinguished a fire at a refinery after a missile attack.
Azerbaijan became the latest country involved, accusing Iran of firing drones at its territory and ordering the closure of its southern airspace for 12 hours.
Hegseth said that by attacking countries in the region, Iran would only bring them closer to the United States.
“It’s actually reaffirming the unity of the resistance so we can focus exactly where we need to,” Hegseth said.
Next phase of operations
The United States has struck more than 2,000 targets in Iran, including Iranian warships.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said US forces had destroyed 30 Iranian warships, including an Iranian aircraft carrier on Thursday.
Cooper said the United States was affecting Iran’s ability to rebuild.
“As we move into the next phase of this operation, we will systematically dismantle Iran’s missile production capabilities for the future, and that is absolutely in progress,” Cooper said, adding that it would take some time.
The US military has identified the six US Army Reserve soldiers who died when a drone crashed into a US military installation in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
Trump and other top officials have warned that the conflict with Iran will result in more American military deaths.
Hegseth, during the news conference, said Iran was making a mistake if it believed the United States could not sustain the ongoing war, adding that Washington had only just begun fighting.
“Iran hopes that we can’t sustain this, which is a really serious miscalculation,” Hegseth said. “We set the schedule.”
