Hegseth insists the Iran conflict is 'not endless' while warning more casualties are likely

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Monday to widening concerns that the U.S.-Israeli strikes successful Iran could spiral into a protracted determination struggle by declaring: “This is not Iraq. This is not endless," adjacent arsenic helium warned that much American casualties are apt successful the weeks ahead.

While the Trump medication has cited Iran’s atomic ambitions arsenic the main interest to beryllium addressed, officials progressively are pointing to the menace from Iran’s ballistic missiles arsenic a cardinal crushed to motorboat the attacks arsenic good arsenic an accidental to instrumentality retired the government’s enactment and the consciousness that negotiations astir the atomic programme person stalled.

Trump said Monday that Iran’s accepted rocket programme “was increasing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a precise clear, colossal menace to America and our forces stationed overseas.”

Hegseth said astatine a abstracted property league with Gen. Dan Caine, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the cognition had a “decisive mission” to destruct the menace of Iranian ballistic missiles, destruct the country’s navy and guarantee “no nukes.”

Trump, Hegseth and Caine person not suggested immoderate exit program oregon offered signs that the struggle would extremity anytime soon arsenic the sidesplitting of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formed uncertainty connected the aboriginal of the Islamic Republic and hurtled the portion into broader instability. Caine said the biggest U.S. subject buildup successful the Middle East successful decades would lone turn due to the fact that the commandant successful the portion “will person further forces adjacent today.”

“This is not a alleged regime-change war, but the authorities definite did change, and the satellite is amended disconnected for it,” Hegseth said.

Trump, however, successful video statements released aft the strikes began, urged the Iranian radical “to instrumentality backmost your country.”

More American unit casualties expected

The struggle has spilled into the wider region, with Iran and its allied equipped groups launching missiles astatine Israel, Arab states and U.S. subject targets successful the Middle East.

Six American troops person been killed, with Trump, Hegseth and Caine predicting much casualties. All were Army soldiers and portion of the aforesaid logistics portion successful Kuwait, according to a U.S. authoritative who was not authorized to remark publically and spoke connected information of anonymity.

When asked astir the six deaths Monday, Hegseth said an Iranian limb made it past allied aerial defenses “and, successful that peculiar case, happened to deed a tactical operations halfway that was fortified.”

Eighteen American work members besides person been earnestly wounded, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command.

The latest motion of the escalating upheaval came when, the U.S. subject said, state Kuwait “mistakenly changeable down” 3 American combatant jets during a combat ngo arsenic Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones were attacking. U.S. Central Command said each six pilots ejected safely from the American F-15E Strike Eagles and were successful unchangeable condition.

Asked if determination are boots connected the crushed present successful Iran, Hegseth said, “No, but we’re not going to spell into the workout of what we volition oregon volition not do.”

He said it was “foolishness” to expect U.S. officials to accidental publically “here’s precisely however acold we’ll go.”

Trump told the New York Post connected Monday that helium wasn’t ruling retired U.S. forces successful Iran if “they were necessary.” He noted, “I don’t person the yips with respect to boots connected the ground."

At the White House, Trump said the ngo was expected to instrumentality 4 to 5 weeks but “we person the capableness to spell acold longer than that.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters astatine the Capitol that the U.S. “will bash this arsenic agelong arsenic it takes to achieve" its objectives and warned that “the hardest hits are yet to travel from the U.S. military."

Hegseth besides dismissed questions astir the clip framework and said Trump had “latitude” to determine however agelong it would take. “Four weeks, 2 weeks, six weeks," helium said. “It could determination up. It could determination back.”

Pentagon gives justification for strikes

In laying retired a lawsuit for the strikes, Hegseth did not constituent to immoderate imminent atomic menace from Iran and said again that strikes by the U.S. and Israel past June “obliterated their atomic programme to rubble.”

Instead, Hegseth pointed to threats from different weaponry that justified the operation: “Iran was gathering almighty missiles and drones to make a accepted shield for their atomic blackmail ambitions.”

He added: “Our bases, our people, our allies, each successful their crosshairs. Iran had a accepted weapon to our caput arsenic they tried to prevarication their mode to a atomic bomb.”

Hegseth said that during negotiations starring up to the attack, Iranian officials were “stalling" contempt having “every accidental to marque a peaceful and sensible deal.”

He besides justified the cognition by describing Iran’s authorities arsenic having started the struggle from its inception, declaring that for 47 years it has “waged a savage, one-sided warfare against America.”

In a backstage briefing Sunday, Trump medication officials told legislature staffers that U.S. quality did not suggest Iran was preparing to motorboat a preemptive onslaught against the U.S., 3 radical acquainted with the briefings said.

Trump, a Republican, had said the nonsubjective of the ngo was to destruct “imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” And elder Trump medication officials, who were not authorized to remark publically and spoke connected the information of anonymity, told reporters Saturday that determination were indicators that the Iranians could motorboat a preemptive attack.

Military doesn't specify Iran's atomic sites arsenic targets

As with the onslaught that dropped monolithic bunker-buster bombs connected Iranian atomic facilities past year, Caine said the subject utilized B-2 stealth bombers successful the caller cognition with a 37-hour circular trip.

He said the penetrating bombs were dropped connected Iranian underground facilities" but did not specify that they were atomic facilities. Nuclear sites were not among the types of targets connected a database released implicit the play by U.S. Central Command.

The medication says Israel and the U.S. person bombed Iranian rocket sites and targeted its navy, claiming to person destroyed its office and aggregate warships.

Caine connected Monday referenced the usage of cyber technologies, saying the U.S. “effectively disrupted communications and sensor networks” that near “the adversary without the quality to coordinate oregon respond effectively.”

Without giving specifics, Caine said the subject “delivered synchronized and layered effects designed to disrupt, degrade, contradict and destruct Iran’s quality to behaviour and sustained combat operations connected the U.S. side.”

Caine said Trump gave the go-ahead bid for the strikes astatine 3:38 p.m. EST connected Friday. That meant the president gave the greenish airy erstwhile helium was aboard Air Force One heading to Texas with Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and histrion Dennis Quaid.

___

Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard successful Charleston, S.C.; Bill Barrow successful Atlanta; David Klepper, Ben Finley and Lisa Mascaro successful Washington; and Farnoush Amiri successful New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.