{"id":321736,"date":"2026-03-04T18:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T18:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/321736\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T18:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T18:03:09","slug":"hegseth-iran-is-toast-and-the-us-and-israel-will-rain-down-death-and-destruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/321736\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth: Iran is ‘toast,’ and the US and Israel will rain down ‘death and destruction’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within a week, the US and Israel \u201cwill have complete control over Iranian skies,\u201d US War Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted on Wednesday during a press conference at the Pentagon alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, exclaiming that Iran was \u201ctoast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth also promised to rain \u201cdeath and destruction\u201d down on Iran, and vowed that the US can keep fighting \u201cas long as we need to,\u201d although he admitted that the US \u201ccan\u2019t stop everything\u201d fired by Tehran, hinting at the likelihood of future US casualties and further damage to American assets.<\/p>\n

Iran is \u201ctoast, and they know it,\u201d Hegseth said in comments to reporters on the fifth day of the US-Israeli war against Iran, \u201cor at least, soon enough, they will know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed that the US and Israel \u201chave only just begun\u201d hunting and degrading Iranian capabilities, but that soon enough they will have \u201cuncontested airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n

That means \u201cwe will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defense-industrial base of the Iranian military. Finding and fixing their leaders, and their military leaders,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

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He said that Iranian leaders will look up and only see US and Israeli airpower, \u201cevery minute of every day until we decide that it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThis image provided by US Central Command shows Navy sailors signaling to an F-35C Lightning II on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during operations in support of the war in Iran, on March 3, 2026. (US Navy via AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cIran will be able to do nothing about it,\u201d he warned. \u201cDeath and destruction from the sky. All day long.\u201d US pilots \u201chave maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly,\u201d he added. Rules of engagement \u201care designed to unleash American power, not shackle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight,\u201d Hegseth continued. \u201cWe are punching them when they\u2019re down, which is exactly how it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

This campaign \u201chas seven times the intensity\u201d of Israel\u2019s June operation against Iran, the war secretary added. \u201cMore and larger waves are coming; we are just getting started. We are accelerated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once air supremacy is established, the US will begin dropping 500-, 1000- and 2000-pound precision bombs, of which the US has a nearly unlimited stockpile, said Hegseth.<\/p>\n

US stockpiles of stand-off guided missiles and Patriot missiles remain \u201cextremely strong,\u201d he said, amid concerns the campaign against Iran could deplete American defenses ahead of a potential war with China.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can sustain this fight easily, for as long as we need to,\u201d Hegseth said, dismissing concerns that air defense of America\u2019s Arab allies could run out amid a concerted Iranian missile and drone assault. \u201cOur air defenses and that of our allies have plenty of runway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will take all the time we need to make sure we succeed,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA US War Department map entitled, Operation EPIC FURY Timeline \u2013 First 100 Hours, is displayed during a news conference with US War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, at the Pentagon, March 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP\/Konstantin Toropin)<\/p>\n

The war secretary said the timeline of the war could go further than previously speculated, after US President Donald Trump has himself offered varying assessments of the war\u2019s length in interviews over the past few days.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cUltimately, we set the pace and the tempo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran can\u2019t adapt to the new challenges it faces, he argued: \u201cIran\u2019s senior leaders are dead. The so-called governing council that might have selected a successor are dead, missing, or cowering in bunkers, too terrified to even occupy the same room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iranian air force is no more,\u201d he boasted. \u201cThe Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve taken control of Iran\u2019s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe control their fate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tA person stands on the roof of a building looking at a plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital Tehran, on March 3, 2026. (Atta Kenare\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Hegseth, however, acknowledged that some Iranian air attacks may still hit their targets. The US has spared \u201cno expense or capability\u201d to enhance air defense systems to protect American forces and allies in the Middle East, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,\u201d he added. The US has put defending its troops \u201cahead of everything else,\u201d and 90% of US troops in the region were moved outside the range of Iranian fire, Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, six American soldiers were killed at an operations center targeted by an Iranian drone strike in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, said the center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.<\/p>\n

The New York Times on Tuesday reported that<\/a> Iranian strikes have also succeeded in damaging US communications systems on at least seven US military sites so far.<\/p>\n

The war secretary accused the press of wanting to make the US president look bad by focusing on Iranian drones that make it through air defenses.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Hegseth asserted, the US \u201cis winning\u201d in its war on Iran \u201cdevastatingly, decisively, and without mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThis handout image shows aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) that are operating in support of the war in Iran, March 3, 2026. (US Navy via AP)<\/p>\n

Only four days into the campaign, \u201cmetrics are shifting, dust is settling and more forces are arriving,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Hegseth says that the US is \u201cleading\u201d the campaign. \u201cBut when you add the Israeli Defense Forces, a devastatingly capable force, the combination is sheer destruction for our radical Islamist Iranian adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called Israel a \u201csteadfast partner,\u201d and said it\u2019s a \u201cbreath of fresh air\u201d to fight with such a capable ally. \u201cWe salute your courage and your contribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The secretary also appeared to suggest that the US\u2019s Gulf allies, who have been heavily bombarded by Iran, will be \u201cgoing on offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing right now is a response in the region to the belligerence of Iran,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn different levels, they\u2019re reaching out to us,\u201d he said, \u201cwhether they\u2019re going on offense, which they are, whether they\u2019re giving us additional access, basing and overflight, we working very closely and collaborating with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said that none of the US objectives in Iran are \u201cpremised on the support or arming of any particular force,\u201d in response to a question about reports the US is planning to arm an Iranian Kurdish uprising.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speak during a press briefing at the Pentagon, March 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP\/Konstantin Toropin)<\/p>\n

Speaking after Hegseth at the Pentagon press conference, top US general Caine described a significant decline in Iranian missile and drone launches since the start of Operation Epic Fury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran\u2019s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours\u2026 Their one-way attack drone shots are down 73%,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, he noted, US service members \u201cremain in harm\u2019s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caine said the three military goals of the operation are currently to neutralize Iran\u2019s ballistic missile threat, degrade or destroy the Iranian navy, and prevent Iran from quickly rebuilding its military capabilities.<\/p>\n

The general said the US has struck more than 2,000 targets during the campaign, and that over 20 Iranian naval vessels have been destroyed, largely neutralizing Iran\u2019s main naval presence in the theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis progress has allowed CENTCOM to establish localized air superiority across the Southern flank of the Iranian Coast,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nava Freiberg and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Within a week, the US and Israel \u201cwill have complete control over Iranian skies,\u201d US War Secretary Pete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-321736","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}