U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Tehran that it is making a grave miscalculation if it believes Washington cannot sustain its military campaign in the widening Iran conflict saying Iran is “hoping that we cannot sustain this,” a notion he called “really bad” for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Tehran’s leadership. Hegseth stressed that U.S. forces have ample stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons and that America’s commitment to its mission objectives only increases as its advantages grow asserting that “we have only just begun to fight and fight decisively.” He told reporters at U.S. Central Command in Tampa Florida that the United States has the resources will and munitions to sustain the campaign against Iranian forces “as long as we need to,” and that U.S. military operations — known as Operation Epic Fury — remain focused on degrading Iran’s missile naval and production capabilities without expanding objectives.
Hegseth’s comments came amid intensified U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure which have included deep strikes into Iranian territory and a heavy bombardment of targets around Tehran as well as retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Tehran across the region. Despite assertions of U.S. air dominance and the ability to control the conflict’s tempo Hegseth acknowledged the possibility of continued Iranian attacks saying the United States has set the timeline for the operation and will control its duration. Analysts say Hegseth’s warning signals Washington’s determination to maintain pressure on Tehran while reassuring allies and deterrence targets that U.S. military power remains robust and sustainable.
