Pete Hegseth Delivers Big Update on Iran: Read Speech in Full - Newsweek

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a speech on Monday outlining the thinking and goals behind Operation Epic Fury, the huge campaign against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel.

LIVE UPDATES: Newsweek's rolling coverage of Operation Epic Fury against IranThe 5 Gifts to Putin of Trump’s War on Iran

Hegseth said the operation would not be an "endless" war comparable to past campaigns, such as in Iraq.

He said the goal is not nation-building in Iran, nor to establish democracy, but the destruction of Iranian missile production, naval power, security infrastructure, and ultimately its ability to move towards developing a nuclear weapon.

Pete Hegseth's Full Speech on Iran

Two days ago, under the direction and direct orders of President Donald J. Trump, the Department of War launched Operation Epic Fury, the most lethal, most complex and most precise aerial operation in history.

For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamist regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America. They didn't always declare it openly, except for their constant chants of “death to America."

They did it through the blood of our people. Car bombs in Beirut. Rocket attacks on our ships. Murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Funded and armed by Iranian Quds Force and IRGC killers.

My generation of veterans carry the names of brothers who never came home. Brothers butchered by Iranian-backed roadside bombs and well-armed militias. Thousands of our own.

We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult. It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.

He reminded the world, as he has time and time again, being an American means something unbreakable.

If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you.

President Trump has also been very consistent. Crazy regimes like Iran, hellbent on prophetic Islamist delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons. It's common sense. Many have said it, but it takes guts to actually enforce it. And our president has guts.

Iran's stubborn and self-evident nuclear pursuits, their targeting of global shipping lanes and their swelling arsenal of ballistic missiles and killer drones, are no longer tolerable risks.

Iran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions. Let me say that again: A conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions.

Our bases, our people, our allies, all in their crosshairs. Iran had a conventional gun to our head as they tried to lie their way to a nuclear bomb.

It almost worked under Obama and his terrible deal. But not under this president. Turns out the regime who chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel” was gifted death from America and death from Israel.

This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change. And the world is better off for it.

Today, in their desperation, the enemy is unmasked as Iranian missiles and drones rained down indiscriminately on the hotels, airports, apartments and other civilian targets of their neighbors.

Cowardly terrorist tactics for from a regime that for decades has trafficked in cowardly terrorist tactics, lies, death and destruction to this day.

The Iranian leadership has built nothing except proxies and missiles and drones and deeply buried nuclear factories and facilities.

Peaceful nuclear ambitions do not need to be buried underneath mountains.

Last June, Operation Midnight Hammer obliterated their nuclear program to rubble. Afterward, we told them plainly: That's it, now make a deal. They arrogantly refused.

We said rebuild it and we'll stop you again. This time far worse.

Well, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, they bent over backwards for real diplomacy, offering pathway after pathway to peace.

I watched it, I was there. They tried over and over and over again, earnest attempts at peace. The former regime had every chance to make a peaceful and sensible deal.

But Tehran was not negotiating. They were stalling, buying time to reload their missile stockpiles and restart their nuclear ambitions. Their goal? Hold us hostage, threatening to strike our forces.

Well, President Trump doesn't play those games. And as Secretary Rubio said after the Maduro raid: If you don't know, now, you know.

President Trump puts America and Americans first. He doesn't hesitate and neither do our troops.

The mission of Operation Epic Fury is laser-focused. Destroy Iranian offensive missiles. Destroy Iranian missile production. Destroy their navy and other security infrastructure. And they will never have nuclear weapons.

We're hitting them surgically. Overwhelmingly and unapologetically.

With every passing day, our capabilities get stronger and Iran's get weaker. We set the terms of this war from start to finish. Our ambitions are not utopian. They are realistic, scoped to our interests and the defense of our people and our allies.

Speaking of people, we hope the Iranian people take advantage of this incredible opportunity. President Trump has been clear: Now is your time.

To Iranian security forces: Choose wisely. President Trump has also been clear about your fate in either direction.

To the media outlets and political left screaming endless wars: Stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both. Our generation knows better, and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation-building wars dumb. And he's right.

This is the opposite. This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission. Destroy the missile threat. Destroy the Navy. No nukes.

Israel has clear missions as well, for which we are grateful. Capable partners—As we've said since the beginning—capable partners are good partners.

Unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force.

America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history. B2s, fighters, drones, missiles, and of course, classified effects.

All on our terms with maximum authorities. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don't waste time or lives.

As the president warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties. War is hell and always will be. A grateful nation honors the four Americans we have lost thus far, and those injured. The absolute best of America.

May we prosecute the remainder of this operation in a manner that honors them. No apologies, no hesitation. Epic fury for them and the thousands of Americans before them taken too soon by Iranian radicals.

Before I turn it over to General Caine for the operational update, let me speak straight to you, the joint force, our warriors on the front lines. This is your moment. This is the generational turning point America has waited for since 1979. And since the rudderless wars of hubris, my generation, our generation endured.

Don't listen to the noise. Just stay focused. Our commander in chief is steady at the wheel. We face a determined enemy, but you are better. But we must prove it every single day. History doesn't care if we're tired, if we're scared, or if the fight feels big. It demands warriors who rise anyway.

Peace through strength. The warrior ethos. Lethality. Unity of purpose.

Those are not slogans. They're the beating heart of what it means to wear the uniform, that uniform. You think clearly under fire. You act decisively in chaos. You uphold the Constitution, and you uphold our country without hesitation.

We are not defenders anymore. We are warriors. Trained to kill the enemy and break their will. History is watching. Be the force you swore an oath to be: Focused, disciplined, lethal and unbreakable.

We will finish this on “America First” conditions of President Trump's choosing. Nobody else's. As it should be.

And know this above all, President Trump and I have your back, always. Through fire, through criticism, through fake news, through everything. We unleash you because you are the best, most powerful, most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen.

May Almighty God watch over you and his providential arms of protection extend over you.

Godspeed, warriors, and keep going.

In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At

Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it's not "both sides," it's sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.When you

[become a Newsweek Member], you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations.[Help keep the center courageous. Join today.]