Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated on Monday that the administration will take any action it deems necessary and did not rule out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran.
The U.S. military launched Operation Epic Fury early Saturday morning to target the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear program. Hegseth said during the Pentagon’s joint press conference with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) that the military will go as far as they need to advance American interests.
“First, are there currently any American boots on the ground in Iran?” a reporter asked.
“No, but we’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” Hegseth said. “I think it’s one of those fallacies for a long time that this department or presidents or others should tell the American people this and our enemies, by the way, here’s exactly what we’ll do. Here’s exactly how long we’ll go. Here’s exactly how far we’ll go. Here’s what we’re willing to do and not do. It’s foolishness. And so President Trump ensures that our enemies understand we’ll go as far as we need to go to advanced American interests. But we’re not dumb about it.”
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Hegseth added that the military will “unapologetically” fight against its enemies to “win” and achieve the objectives laid out by President Donald Trump.
“You don’t have to roll two hundred thousand people in there and stay for 20 years,” Hegseth continued. We’ve proven that you can achieve objectives that advance American interests without being foolish about it. Now, will we be bold about it? Are we willing to be decisive about it? Do we put months and months of planning into what kind of effects we want to achieve? Absolutely.”
“But going forward, why in the world would we tell you, you, the enemy, anybody what we will or will not do in pursuit of an objective? We fight to win. We fight to achieve the objectives the president of the United States has laid out. And we will do so unapologetically,” Hegseth said.
Four American service members died and at least five others were wounded during the beginning of combat operations against Iran, the Pentagon announced on Sunday. Iran launched missiles and drones against American and Israeli targets in response to the initial attacks, which killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior leaders in the regime.
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