Hegseth says US will control Iranian skies within a week, leaders 'dead or in hiding'
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the United States is “winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy” in the military campaign against Iran, four days after the launch of Operation Epic Fury.
Speaking at a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said the operation was ordered by President Donald Trump early Saturday and that additional US forces were still arriving.
US and Israel to control Iranian skies within a week
Hegseth said the US and Israeli air forces were moving to gain “complete control of Iranian skies” within days.
“In under a week, the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace,” he said.
He said that would allow US and Israeli forces to fly “all day, all night” over Iran to strike missile infrastructure, military industry and leadership targets.
US aircraft including B-2, B-52 and B-1 bombers, drones and fighter jets were involved in the campaign, he said.
US to intensify strikes with precision bombs
Hegseth said that with airspace dominance, US forces would increasingly use GPS- and laser-guided bombs.
“We will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile,” he said.
He added that US rules of engagement were designed to “unleash American power.”
Iran’s military capabilities 'evaporating'
Hegseth said Iranian forces had been severely degraded.
“The Iranian air force is no more,” he said, adding that the Iranian navy had been destroyed and that Iran’s ability to fire missiles had sharply declined.
“Iran’s capabilities are evaporating by the hour,” he said.
US submarine sinks Iranian warship
Hegseth also said an American submarine had sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” he said, adding the ship was destroyed by torpedo.
Iran leadership 'dead or in hiding'
The defense secretary said many senior Iranian leaders had been killed or forced into hiding.
“Iran’s senior leaders are dead… missing or cowering in bunkers, too terrified to even occupy the same room,” he said.
US says campaign will continue
Hegseth said the US objective was to destroy Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, dismantle its military infrastructure and ensure Tehran never obtains nuclear weapons.
“Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb — not on our watch,” he said.
He added that the campaign was only beginning.
“Four days in, we have only just begun to fight.”
