‘As Far as We Need To Go’: Hegseth Says More American Forces Being Deployed as Attacks on Iran Escalate

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to put a timeline on American military operations against Iran during a Monday Pentagon briefing but is calling the mission for American forces crystal-clear — “We are hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” he says.Mr. Hegseth added that there are currently no American troops in Iran but didn’t rule out the possibility they might be at some point. “President Trump ensures that our enemies understand we’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests,” Mr. Hegseth said.“This is not a so-called ‘regime change war’ but the regime sure did change,” he added. “And the world is better off for it.” Mr. Hegseth says the Trump Administration will not engage in a “nation-building quagmire” in Iran.Mr. Hegseth criticized a reporter who asked about future operations. “Going forward, why would we tell you, the enemy, anybody what we will and will not do in pursuit of the objective?”The initial attacks against Iran were aimed to “daze and confuse” Iranian forces and leadership, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine said during the same briefing.General Caine said American intelligence enabled Israel to carry out the attack that killed the Iranian regime’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. He added that cyberattacks were used ahead of the attacks to knock out key systems in Iran and sow confusion.General Caine would not specify how many American forces were involved in the operation but said more forces were being deployed on Monday. “I think we’re just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and total combat power,” General Caine said.The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that a fourth American troop died from Iranian attacks over the weekend.In other developments, Iranian media say Khamenei’s wife died on Monday. Mansoureh Khojasteh had been in a coma since Saturday’s attack, according to the Associated Press.Israeli and American forces continued strikes on Iran on Monday, including Tehran. Israeli forces also continued strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.In an interview with the Telegraph on Monday, President Trump said he was “very disappointed” with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who initially blocked American forces from using Diego Garcia to carry out strikes against Iran.Mr. Starmer said on Sunday that he will now allow the United States military to carry out “defensive” operations from the base on the Indian ocean. “It took far too much time. Far too much time,” Mr. Trump told the paper.Energy prices also spiked on Monday over concerns about supply disruptions due to the war.

‘As Far as We Need To Go’: Hegseth Says More American Forces Being Deployed as Attacks on Iran Escalate

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