'We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need:' Hegseth, Caine provide update on ...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Washington. (Konstantin Toropin/AP)

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. and Israel are firmly in control of the fight against Iran as a barrage of strikes and counterstrikes continued for a fifth day Wednesday.

“I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Epic Fury — America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” Hegseth said as part of his more than 10-minute opening statement during a press conference with Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “More bombers and fighters are arriving today. We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need.”

Hegseth said that the U.S. and Israel will control Iranian airspace in less than a week.

“They are toast, and they know it. Or, at least soon enough, they will know it,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth’s comments came four days after the U.S. and Israel launched extensive strikes against Iran and following months of stalled negotiations over the country’s nuclear program. President Donald Trump later that night announced the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. In addition to the strikes on Iran, Israel has attacked the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Hegseth also said a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday in the Indian Ocean. Caine added this was the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy warship. The frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a single Mark 48 torpedo, he said.

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Tuesday in a video posted on X that the U.S. is sinking the “entire” Iranian Navy, including 17 ships so far. Caine said the U.S. has destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels.

The offensive has not gone unanswered. Iran has launched strikes on Israel, Bahrain and Kuwait. Turkey said that NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace. Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones.

“To be clear, Iran is indiscriminately targeting civilians as they launch these missiles and drones. The evidence is crystal-clear and overwhelming,” Cooper added. “Having said this, we are seeing Iran’s ability to hit us and our partners is declining. While our combat power, on the other hand, is building.”

Hegseth acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. can’t stop every Iranian drone attack.

“We have pushed every counter-UAS system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability,” he said, referencing drones. “Like I said, this does not mean we stop everything.”

Hegseth’s comments came amid questions on whether the U.S. and its partners in the region have adequate stockpiles of munitions to counter ongoing attacks by Iran and its proxies spanning at least 10 nations. Iran is believed to have a large stockpile of relatively cheap, sophisticated one-way attack drones in addition to its missiles.

Caine said Iran’s shots-fired are down significantly from the start of the campaign, with ballistic missile fire down 86% and drone attacks down 73%.

“We will now begin to strike inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory and creating additional freedom of maneuver for U.S. forces,” Caine said.

CENTCOM is shifting from standoff weapons to “stand-in” weapons, the chairman added.

“The throttle is coming up, as the secretary said, as opposed to ramping down,” Caine said.

Thus far, six U.S. service members have died in the fighting. They include Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. All four Army reservists were killed in a drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on Sunday.

The names of two other soldiers who died in the attack are being withheld until next of kin are notified.

“To the families of our fallen, we grieve with you today, and we look forward to welcoming your family members home to Dover (Air Force Base, Del.) in the coming days,” Caine said.

No U.S. ground troops have been acknowledged to be part of the attacks. Trump said Monday that he did not expect they would be necessary, but told the New York Post that he could change his mind and that he did not have the “yips with respect to boots on the ground.”

More than 9,000 American citizens had safely returned from the Middle East as of Wednesday, the State Department said. The U.S. is facilitating charter flights from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan for its citizens, and commercial options are available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Egypt, the State Department said Wednesday.

Reports of Iranian strikes continued into Wednesday, and airspace remains restricted throughout much of the Middle East.

“It’s a great opportunity to encourage everybody in the region to go to the State Department and register. Secretary Rubio has been trying to get that word out. I’d ask you to help us with that and have folks registered,” Caine said. “We’ve also opened up space available as C-17s and other airplanes come in to try to help folks get out, but that’s really a State Department matter.”