Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speak at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Hegseth on Wednesday lauded Operation Epic Fury as a historic military victory for the United States. (Department of Defense)
ARLINGTON, Va. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday morning called Operation Epic Fury “a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield,” a day after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire.
By later in the day, though, the pause in hostilities was already being tested. While U.S. officials highlighted the scale and speed of the campaign, questions remain about how durable the ceasefire will be and whether the competing claims emerging from Washington and Tehran can be reconciled.
Iranian state media reported Wednesday afternoon that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Iran reopening the strait was a key component of the ceasefire.
White House press secretary Karoline Levitt denounced those reports as false.
“With respect to the first reporting out of Iranian state media, [President Donald Trump] was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium,” she said during a Wednesday press briefing. “That is completely unacceptable. And again, this is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different.
“Privately, we have seen an uptick of traffic in the Strait today, and I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly, and safely,” Leavitt said. “That is his expectation. It has been relayed to him privately that that is what’s taking place in these reports, publicly, are false.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday that the ceasefire doesn’t cover Israel’s fight against Tehran-backed Hezbollah.
Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during Wednesday morning’s briefing at the Pentagon that Operation Epic Fury is finished, but American troops will remain in the region.
“The War Department, for now, has done its part. We stand ready in the background to ensure Iran upholds every reasonable term,” Hegseth said. “To the warriors of Epic Fury, I say well done … your skill, your bravery and sheer guts and grit showed the world what America is all about. I’m proud of you. We’re proud of you. Job well done.”
Caine made clear that U.S. troops would remain on standby in case the ceasefire doesn’t hold.
“A ceasefire is a pause, and the joint force remains ready if ordered or called upon to resume combat operations,” Caine said. “We hope that is not the case.”
Hegseth was quick to reiterate the chairman’s point when asked about the military’s presence in the region.
“We’ll be hanging around, not going anywhere. We’re going to make sure Iran complies with the ceasefire,” Hegseth said.
The 11th-hour ceasefire agreed upon Tuesday night came after Trump escalated his threats Tuesday morning to destroy the country’s infrastructure and talks appeared to stall.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” he said in a post to his Truth Social account. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council responded with a statement that Iran had been victorious and congratulated the Iranian people for their defiance in the war with the United States and Israel.
The council added that the U.S. had accepted all of Iran’s 10-point peace plan, including guarantees to not attack Iran, Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, repatriation for financial losses and withdrawing U.S. combat forces from the region.
“We congratulate the people of Iran for this victory and reiterate that until the final details of the victory are finalized, officials and people must remain united and defiant,” the council said.
Trump shared the full statement of Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Truth Social on Tuesday night, without disputing or commenting on the statement.
Araghchi’s statement said Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” the Iranian statement read. “For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
Throughout the conflict, Iran has maintained a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, sharply restricting traffic and allowing only limited oil shipments through. The waterway’s closure has caused oil and gas prices to surge, sparking concerns about wider implications for the global economy. The average price of gasoline in the U.S. is $4.16 a gallon, according to AAA.
Hegseth and Caine pointed out military accomplishments during the operation during Wednesday’s briefing, saying the U.S. “devastated the regime’s ability to harm Americans and our interests for years to come.”
“In less than 40 days … (U.S.) Central Command, using less than 10% of America’s total combat power, dismantled one of the world’s largest militaries, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” Hegseth said during a news conference at the Pentagon early Wednesday.
American forces have struck more than 13,000 targets inside Iran, decimating much of its missile stockpile, production facilities and largest naval vessels.
CENTCOM forces destroyed about 80% of Iran’s air defense systems, which includes striking more than 1,500 air defense targets, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities and 800 one-way attack drone storage facilities, Caine said.
The chairman added that the U.S. estimates 90% of the Iranian naval fleet has been sunk, and “their missile defense industrial base is shattered with more than 80% of their missile facilities gone.”
Trump administration officials since the launch of the war have said the objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, destroy Iran’s navy and ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.
Trump took to social media early Wednesday to declare his Iran approach a success.
“There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘DUST,’ ” Trump posted on Truth Social less than an hour before the top Pentagon officials spoke. “We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran.”
The president added that “many of the 15 points have already been agreed to.” The U.S. agreed Tuesday evening to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The president said then that Iran had presented a 10-point proposal that he believed is “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
In a follow-up post Wednesday, Trump said that a country supplying military weapons to Iran will be “immediately tariffed” on any and all goods sold to the U.S. by 50%.
Since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28, 13 American personnel have died and at least 372 have been wounded, according to Defense Manpower Data Center figures.
Early in the conflict, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now supreme leader.
The ceasefire comes after an F-15E fighter jet, referred to by call sign Dude 44, was downed Thursday night in southern Iran. One crew member was promptly recovered while a risky search-and-rescue operation unfolded to recover the second crew member.
Caine said he and Hegseth have talked with the crew members recovered, as well as service members who were part of the rescue mission.
“Hearing these stories firsthand has only deepened our appreciation for their tenacity, creativity, courage and grit of the American joint force,” Caine said. “This is a story that gets to the very heart and soul of who we are as a joint force, who we are as Americans.”
