‘This is not Iraq’: US defence secretary says conflict with Iran won’t be ‘endless’

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday said that the country’s joint attack with Israel on Iran is “not endless”.

“This is not Iraq, this is not endless,” Hegseth said, maintaining that those expressing concerns about “endless wars” were mistaken.

Speaking at the Pentagon, Hegseth claimed that the US operation “is a clear, devastating, decisive mission” which aims to “destroy the missile threat, destroy the Navy, no nukes.”

“America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is launching the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history…all on our terms and with maximum authority,” he added.

The defence secretary also claimed that the Iranian regime had waged a “savage, one-sided war against America” for nearly five decades and that the US under President Donald Trump was going to end it.

“This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it,” Hegseth added.

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine joined the briefing to outline operational details and also offer their condolences to the families of four American soldiers who were killed in the ongoing conflict.

The death of a fourth US service member was confirmed on Monday by the US Central Command.

“The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” the statement said.

The conflict

On Saturday, Israel and the US launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government. Iran retaliated to the attacks and said that the US-Israeli operation had begun while the nuclear negotiations were on.

The attacks came amid tensions between the three countries over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Israel has been claiming that Iran is “closer than ever” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security.

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

However, amid fears of a potential attack, with a heavy US military deployment off its coast in recent months, Tehran had been forced to reopen negotiations with Washington about its nuclear programme.

On Sunday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in theUS-Israeli military operation. After Khamenei’s death on Sunday, Tehran vowed revenge and fired missiles at Israel and other countries across the Gulf.

His killing further escalated an already volatile situation in the region.

On Monday, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it had fired rockets and drones at Israel in response to Khamenei’s killing, with the Jewish nation responding with a barrage of strikes in Lebanon.

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