Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine conduct a press briefing at the Pentagon on March 2, 2026. (Madelyn Keech/Department of Defense)
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke for the first time Monday about the U.S. strikes against Iran on Saturday, quickly addressing concerns that America could be drawn into another “endless war” in the Middle East.
“This is not Iraq,” the secretary said early in the briefing conducted with Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “This is not endless. I was there … our generation knows better, and so does this president. Don’t listen to the outside noise.”
Hegseth began his remarks by stating the U.S. case for taking action.
“For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America,” Hegseth said. “They didn’t always declare it openly, except for constant chants of death to America. ...
“We didn’t start this war, but under President (Donald) Trump we are finishing it.”
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio each spoke later Monday to clarify the specific U.S. objectives for the attack.
Hegseth said Iran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their “nuclear blackmail ambitions.”
The attacks, launched jointly with Israel, killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change,” Hegseth said. “And the world is better off for it.”
U.S. Central Command received a final order from Trump at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, saying Operation Epic Fury was approved.
“No aborts. Good luck,” Caine said.
Caine said CENTCOM will receive additional forces Monday. The chairman did not get into specifics but said more tactical aviation is “flowing into the theater” and believes they are where they want to be in terms of total combat capability.
The chairman said that, similar to a strike in June that dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities, Epic Fury also utilized B-2 stealth bombers, which made a 37-hour round trip.
Caine also noted the use of cyber technologies, which “effectively disrupted communications and sensor networks,” leaving “the adversary without the ability to coordinate or respond effectively.”
“The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases, will be difficult,” Caine added.
Hegseth said there currently were no boots on the ground in Iran but did not rule anything out: “We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do.”
Trump has suggested the conflict with Iran could go on for the next four weeks.
“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,” Hegseth said. “I’ve been in meetings with the president for the last 2½ days. We know exactly where his headspace is, and he will communicate as he should, exactly what he would like, and we will follow those orders.”
Trump, during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White on Monday, said the U.S. military continues large-scale combat operations in Iran.
He reiterated that the objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, destroy Iran’s Navy and ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.
“We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership, and as you know, that was done in about an hour. So we’re ahead of schedule there by a lot,” Trump said.
Trump added that the combat plan was a “projected five weeks but we have capability to go far longer than that.”
The briefings came as the fighting has intensified into a wider war in the region. Iran and its allied armed groups have launched missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets in the Middle East. U.S. forces across the Middle East have endured hours of air raid sirens and explosions.
Six U.S. service members had died as of Monday at 4 p.m. ET, CENTCOM said in a post on X.
Hegseth and Caine each reiterated what the president said Saturday in a recorded video, that the U.S. “expects to take additional losses.”
“We grieve with you, and we will never forget you,” Caine said of the family members of those killed.
Six U.S. airmen are safe after Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down three fighter jets during combat with Iran on Sunday, CENTCOM said prior to the announcement.
CENTCOM said three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles were engaging Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones at around 7 p.m. local time when they were hit by friendly fire. All six aircrew ejected safely, the command said in a statement Monday.
“I am aware of the loss of three U.S. F-15Es overnight in the region,” Caine said. “I am grateful for the safety of the crews, and we know it was not from hostile enemy fire.”
The general added one more message to the public before taking questions.
“To the American people — your Joint Force remains steady, frosty, calm and focused,” Caine said.
Hegseth and Caine spoke for less than 45 minutes. They walked out as questions were still being shouted, including whether there was evidence that Iran was going to strike first.
Toward the end of the briefing, Hegseth appeared annoyed with a question about concerns that this operation would spiral into a longer war.
“Did you not hear my remarks?” Hegseth responded. “We’re ensuring the mission gets accomplished. But we are very clear eyed, as the president has been, unlike other presidents … that recklessly pulled us into things that were not tethered to actual, clear objectives. So we know we have plans.”
On Monday afternoon, Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill that while “we would love to see the (Iranian) regime replaced ... the objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capability.”
Destroying Iran’s one-way attack drones and navy also are priorities, Rubio said.
