Quick Read
- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the Iranian regime ‘toast’ amid a US-Israeli military offensive.
- The joint operation, launched Saturday, has reportedly reduced Iran’s missile capabilities by 86% and destroyed much of its navy.
- A US submarine sank the Iranian warship Soleimani in the Indian Ocean, the first torpedo sinking since WWII.
- Over 1,000 civilians, including 180 children, have reportedly been killed in Iran; six US service members died in a Kuwait drone strike.
- Hegseth stated the US would achieve ‘uncontested control’ of Iranian airspace within days and confirmed more US forces are arriving.
WASHINGTON (Azat TV) – US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the Iranian regime “toast” on Wednesday, asserting that a joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran, which began on Saturday, was achieving “historic” and “devastating” results. His combative remarks came during a Pentagon press conference where he outlined significant gains, including the near-total destruction of Iran’s military capabilities and the sinking of a major Iranian warship, even as concerns mounted over a rising civilian death toll.
Hegseth claimed the US would achieve “complete, uncontested control of Iranian airspace within days,” emphasizing that Iran “cannot outlast” American military power and that its capabilities were “evaporating by the hour.” He stated that the offensive had already delivered “twice the air power of shock and awe of Iraq in 2003” and “seven times the intensity of Israel’s previous operations against Iran during the 12-day war.”
Escalating Offensive and Air Superiority Claims
Joined by Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth underscored the rapid pace of the operation. “We are just getting started,” Hegseth said, confirming that more US bombers and fighters were arriving in the Middle East, signaling an acceleration, not deceleration, of the campaign. He boasted that the two most powerful air forces in the world would soon have uncontested control of Iranian skies.
General Caine provided specific details on the damage inflicted, reporting that Iran’s ballistic missile capability had been reduced by 86% since hostilities began, its navy largely destroyed, and its senior leadership either killed or in hiding. Caine confirmed that US forces had already established air superiority along Iran’s southern coast and were preparing to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory. The US military has struck more than 2,000 Iranian targets, including command and control centers, ballistic missile sites, naval vessels, and Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters, according to CBS News.
Civilian Toll and International Reactions
The intensifying conflict has led to a significant loss of life, with human rights monitors and Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reporting more than 1,000 civilians killed in Iran since Saturday, including 180 children, many of them schoolgirls aged seven to 12, who died in a bombed school. Hegseth was evasive when asked about the school bombing, stating only that the US was “investigating” and reiterating that US forces “never target civilian targets,” despite reports that the missile directly hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school.
In Israel, 11 people have reportedly been killed, with hundreds injured. Six US service members have also died in a drone strike on a base in Kuwait; General Caine formally named four of them: Captain Cody Khork, 35; Sergeant Nicole Amor, 39; Sergeant Declan Coady, 20; and Sergeant Noah Tietjens, 42. Two names remain pending next-of-kin notification.
Internationally, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned of a “stark” impact on civilians across the Middle East, calling for de-escalation and protection of civilian infrastructure. Russia and China have called for an immediate ceasefire, a plea Hegseth dismissed, stating, “They’re not really a factor here.” Iranian authorities, meanwhile, accuse the US and Israel of “chaotic strikes” and a “lack of precision,” with Al Jazeera reporting that three-quarters of Tehran’s residents have reportedly left the city.
Strategic Strikes and Open-Ended Operations
Hegseth also confirmed a significant naval victory: a US submarine sank an Iranian warship, the Soleimani, in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. This marks the first sinking of an enemy vessel by torpedo since the Second World War. “It thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth quipped, “Instead it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death.”
The Defense Secretary also revealed that the leader of a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump, identified in 2024 as Iranian national Farhad Shakeri, had been “hunted down and killed.” This claim underscores the broad scope of the ongoing military actions.
Regarding future operations, Hegseth indicated a shift from expensive standoff munitions to cheaper, “nearly unlimited” stockpiles of GPS and laser-guided gravity bombs. He declined to offer a timeline for the operation’s end, stating, “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo,” and affirmed that the US could “sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.” He also brushed aside questions about potential US ground troops, calling it “a question for policymakers.”
The Pentagon’s confident pronouncements of rapid and decisive victory contrast sharply with mounting civilian casualties and international calls for de-escalation, highlighting the intense and multifaceted nature of the US-Israeli campaign in Iran.