During a press conference at the Pentagon today, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the operation against Iran is progressing as planned. However, President Donald Trump's administration will not set a specific timeline for ending the conflict. "The US president will decide when everything stops," he stated.
According to Hegseth, since the conflict began on 28/2, US forces have launched attacks on 7,000 targets within Iranian territory, hitting over 40 mine-laying vessels and destroying 11 of the country's submarines.
"Our targeting capabilities remain as precise as on day one and are proceeding as planned," he said, emphasizing that the campaign aims to destroy Iran's missile launchers, defense industry facilities, and naval infrastructure, while preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Pentagon press conference on 19/3. Photo: AFP
Responding to a question about Iran's potential for continued missile attacks on US allies in the Middle East, Secretary Hegseth acknowledged that Tehran "entered the conflict with many weapons".
"This is why we continue to act as decisively and forcefully as possible against their ballistic missile capabilities," the US Defense Secretary said, but stressed that Iran still retains "some capabilities".
He did not deny reports that the Pentagon requested the White House approve a budget of over 200 billion USD to submit to Congress for the operation against Iran. "I think that number could change. It takes money to eliminate bad actors," Secretary Hegseth commented.
During the same press conference, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine stated that the country's military "remains on track" to achieve its stated objectives and is advancing deeper into Iranian territory.
Iranian officials have not commented on the information.
Before the conflict began, the Iranian navy possessed at least 20 submarines, including three Project 877EKM "Paltus" submarines of Soviet and Russian origin, two of which were inactive. It also had one Fateh-class medium submarine and 16 Ghadir-class midget submarines developed by Tehran.
Images released by the US military on 3/3 showed the IRIS Fateh submarine destroyed while docked in port.
The Middle East conflict has lasted nearly three weeks with no signs of de-escalation. Both the US and Israel have declared "victory" but will continue military operations until their objectives are achieved. Meanwhile, Iran continues launching missile and drone attacks on targets in several Middle Eastern nations.
Huyen Le (According to Reuters, CNN)
