Hegseth says US ‘on target’ to complete ‘day one’ Iran objectives

During a briefing on Thursday, Hegseth laid out the objectives for the war. "These are not the media's objectives, not Iran's objectives. Not new objectives. Our objectives—unchanged, on target, and on plan: destroy missiles launchers and Iran's defense industrial base so they cannot rebuild, destroy their navy, and Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," Hegseth said.

Hegseth added, “I stand here today speaking to you, the American people, not through filters, not through reporters, not through cable news spin. A dishonest and anti-Trump press will stop at nothing, we know this at this point, the downplay progress, amplify every cost, and call into question every step. Sadly, TDS is in their DNA. They want President Trump to fail, but you, the American people, know better.”

The War Secretary emphasized, "To the patriotic members of the press, nobody can deliver perfection in wartime. This building knows that more than anyone, but report the reality. We're winning decisively and on our terms." He then added that Iran has been doing what Hamas did in Israel, namely digging tunnels and using humanitarian aid to fund rockets.

“Today, we've struck over 7,000 targets across Iran and its military infrastructure. That is not incremental, that is overwhelming force applied with precision,” Hegseth added. “And again, today will be the largest strike package yet, just like yesterday was, as I've said from day one, our capabilities continue to build, Iran's continue to degrade.”

Hegseth later added that “the Middle East, our ungrateful allies in Europe, even segments of our own press should be saying one thing to President Trump, thank you.”

Chairman of the Joint Force Dan Cain also highlighted the efforts of the US military. “Our nation's tanker crews really are unsung heroes, incredible warriors who put their lives on the line so we can continue to take the fight to an enemy. I personally witnessed their courage and tenacity many times, from the morning of September 11, where they answered my call for some help, to the skies over foreign countries, where they've come forward out of their safe tanker track to give me gas when I simply could not leave a ground force that was engaged in a firefight,” he said during the briefing.