Pete Hegseth claims Trump is 'finishing' war with Iran as conflict widens - The Guardian

Trump on Iran strikes: 'The big wave hasn’t even happened'

In an interview with CNN, Donald Trump said that the “big wave” of strikes against Iran is yet to come.

“We haven’t even started hitting them hard,” the president said.

“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper during a nine-minute phone interview. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.”

When asked about the length of the war, Trump said he didn’t “want to see it go on too long”. Earlier, his defense secretary Pete Hegseth was belligerent with reporters, and insisted that he would not put a timeframe on the conflict.

“I always thought it would be four weeks,” Trump told CNN, “And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”

“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground – like every president says ‘there will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Donald Trump told the Post. “I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”

This comes after Pete Hegseth initially said that there weren’t plans to have service members on the ground in Iran, but also was reluctant to say whether this was the administration’s lasting stance. “We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” he said at a Pentagon press conference earlier.

The US embassy in Beirut has shared the following on social media:

We urge US citizens not to travel to Lebanon. If you are in the country, depart Lebanon NOW while commercial flight options remain available.

The security situation in Lebanon is volatile and unpredictable. Airstrikes have occurred throughout the country, especially in the south, the Beqaa, and parts of Beirut.

Trump on Iran strikes: 'The big wave hasn’t even happened'

In an interview with CNN, Donald Trump said that the “big wave” of strikes against Iran is yet to come.

“We haven’t even started hitting them hard,” the president said.

“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper during a nine-minute phone interview. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.”

When asked about the length of the war, Trump said he didn’t “want to see it go on too long”. Earlier, his defense secretary Pete Hegseth was belligerent with reporters, and insisted that he would not put a timeframe on the conflict.

“I always thought it would be four weeks,” Trump told CNN, “And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”

Also today, secretary of state Marco Rubio, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – will brief senior congressional lawmakers on Capitol Hill at 4pm ET on Operation Epic Fury.

On Tuesday, top administration officials will address all members of the House and Senate for a Congress-wide briefing.

New poll shows that only one in four Americans support military operation in Iran

A new poll by Reuters/Ipsos found that only one in four Americans support military action in Iran. What’s more, more than half of Americans – including one in four Republicans – think that Trump’s use of military force is excessive. The survey was conducted before the US military announced that four service members were the first casualties of Iran’s counterattack.

Additionally, 45% of respondents said they would be less likely to support the campaign against Iran if gas or oil prices increased in the United States. On Sunday, Brent Crude was trading at more than $80 per barrel, up by 13%, according to oil traders.

A reminder that my colleague, Tom Ambrose, is covering the latest developments out of the region today, at our dedicated live blog.

He reports that Israel announced simultaneous attacks on Tehran and Beirut earlier. The IDF also issued an “urgent” evacuation warning for buildings in the south of the Lebanese capital.

Ahead of wrapping up his press conference today, Pete Hegseth sparred with another reporter who asked if there is a concern that this operation spirals into a longer war.

“We’re ensuring the mission gets accomplished,” Hegeth said. “But we are very clear eyed, as the President has been, unlike other presidents, about the foolish policies of the past that recklessly pulled us in the things that were not tethered to actual, clear objectives. We know, we have plans … but we would never in front of a press pool lay out how long that may take.”

General Caine said that he didn’t want to “talk specifics” about the additional troops that would be sent into the region because “that would tip the enemy off”.

However, he noted that there would be “more tactical aviation” flowing into the theater of operation. “I think we’re just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and total combat power,” he added.

When asked about whether there would be American boots on the ground in Iran, Pete Hegseth was quick to say “no”, but then appeared murky on whether this would remain the case for the duration of the war.

“We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” he said, calling previous decisions by the Pentagon to disclose operational information to “American people and our enemies” as “foolishness”.

Hegseth says that destroying Iranian capabilities 'won't happen overnight'

Throughout his press conference at the Pentagon today, defense secretary Pete Hegseth insisted on various occasions that Operation Epic Fury would not be completed “overnight”.

“This is a big battle space with a lot of capabilities. That’s part of the reason why it’s such a threat to us,” he added.

When probed about the operation’s length, Hegseth proved adversarial with reporters. “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,” he said. “We’re going to execute, at his command, the objectives we’ve set out to achieve, and what he has shown an ability to do what other presidents don’t quite seem to have the aptitude to do as well.”

Caine repeated the concerted and targeted nature of Operation Epic Fury. “I wish that every American could hear the voice communications like I have,” he said. “These joint operation centers remain calm, focused and cool, while executing under fire over and over again.”

Earlier he noted the US had gained “air superiority”, which, he said, will “not only enhance the protection of our forces, but also allow them to continue the work over Iran”.

Caine also said that, in addition to the four US service members killed, the US military expects to take “additional losses”.

Caine noted that Adm Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, will receive additional forces today.

“This rapid buildup of forces demonstrated the joint forces ability to adapt and project power at the time and place of our nation’s choosing,” he said.

He also noted that Operation Epic Fury was operation was “highly classified”, to ensure the enemy would see “speed, surprise and violence of action”.