Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the weekend strikes against Iran was part of a decades-long conflict and the Trump administration was not starting war, but would be ending it with this latest action.
Hegseth, addressing the media and public from the Pentagon early Monday, was joined by Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They detailed the lead up and military action over the weekend as part of “Operation Epic Fury.”
“For 47 long years, the expansionist and Islamic regime in Tehran has waged a savage, one-sided war against America,” Hegseth said. “They didn’t always declare it openly, except for their constant change of death to America.”
After the strikes began Saturday, the U.S. and Israel continued to attack Iran on Sunday into Monday. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed and moved the future of the country into uncharted territory.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel and at U.S. military bases in the Middle East. Several Gulf states also saw civilian areas targeted.
Iranian officials suggested potential new leadership was open for talks with the United States and it was previously reported that a 66-year-old cleric would be joining a three-member leadership council until a new supreme leader would be elected, The Associated Press reported.
However, President Donald Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that all of the identified potential candidates to lead the country were taken out in the attack that killed the supreme leader.
“It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of, because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead,” Trump told him.
4 U.S. service members killed
Also among the casualties over the weekend are four U.S. service members, killed in Iranian strikes. Hegseth said Monday the deaths happened when incoming munitions hit a tactical operations center in Kuwait. They did not yet identify the troops who were killed as families are being notified.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that they expect causalities with “something like this” but said the operation overall will be “a great deal for the world.”
The Iranian Red Crescent estimated that as many as 555 people have been killed in Iran so far, including more than 100 children in a strike on a school.
Lawmakers are set to be briefed on the attack on Tuesday, with Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe leading the briefing. Capitol security has also been increased and there is a fear that retaliatory strikes will occur or sleeper cells will be activated, but there is no immediate threat to the country, Fox News reported.
In an eight-minute video posted to Truth Social, Trump shared that the U.S. began its “major combat operations” in Iran over the weekend.
The president said Iran continued to develop its nuclear program and they needed to be stopped. He urged the Iranian people that they should “take over your government.”
Karl on ABC noted that the operation is a personal one for Trump after U.S. intelligence suggested Iran tried to have him killed during the 2024 presidential campaign. The threat and two assassination attempts led to increased Secret Service protection and other precautions.
“That experience was clearly on his mind as he ordered the attack on the Supreme Leader,” Karl said. “He told me, ‘I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first.’”
Trump is facing some criticism after the attack because he said that he would be a peace president and not start any foreign wars, but has entered into multiple conflicts around the world since retaking the White House.
Hegseth pushed back on that idea Monday, saying the U.S. didn’t start the war, “but under President Trump, we are finishing it.”
The U.S.-Israeli strikes started a series of counterstrikes in the region by several groups.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into northern Israel, prompting Israeli response. Iran itself has fired missiles that have also hit several Israeli cities.
American troops and bases have been targeted in the region by Iranian missiles and drones. There have been reported attacks on U.S. military installations in Bahrain and as of Monday, Bahrain said it had intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones, the AP reported.
In Beruit, the U.S. Embassy is warning Americans to leave the country while commercial flights remain available.
Trump is reportedly upset with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer for initially refusing to allow British bases to be used for the Iranian strikes. Starmer later allowed the U.S. to use bases to strike Iran’s ballistic missiles but not hit other targets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly held a call with leaders from Qatar and Bahrain, where concerns of the expanding conflict were shared.
Hegseth said Monday that the timeline for how long the conflict in the region will last is up to the president.
“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. We’re going to execute at his command,” Hegseth said.