WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that, a month into the war, Iran still has the ability to launch offensive missiles, despite ongoing U.S. and Israeli efforts to weaken Tehran\u2019s military capabilities and weapon programs. <\/p>\n
\u201cYes, they will shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down,\u201d Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon briefing, acknowledging the remaining threat. <\/p>\n
The comment, made during the first public briefing on the conflict in nearly two weeks, underscored that despite weeks of intensive U.S. military operations and repeated assertions by President Trump that Iran\u2019s military has been \u201cobliterated,\u201d the threats posed by Iran\u2019s forces have not been fully eliminated.<\/p>\n
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the briefing that the U.S. military remains focused on \u201cinterdicting and destroying\u201d Iran\u2019s weapon warehouses and building facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve continued to do the work against Iran\u2019s missile, drone and naval production facilities,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n
While air and naval strikes have been the primary focus so far, U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility of ground operations as thousands of American soldiers and Marines have begun arriving in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Hegseth said it is up to Trump to determine whether ground operations in Iran will become the next phase in the conflict, which the president has said he is open to ending through diplomatic talks.<\/p>\n
Trump repeated over the weekend that Iran is \u201cbegging to make a deal\u201d to end the war, but on Monday, the president threatened<\/a> to target Iran\u2019s power-generating plans and oil wells and even desalination plants if a \u201cdeal is not shortly reached.\u201d<\/p>\n White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that the administration will \u201coperate within the confines of the law,\u201d when asked about Trump\u2019s threat to target infrastructure that would potentially harm civilians. <\/p>\n Caine told reporters on Tuesday that the U.S. would only \u201cstrike lawful targets\u201d when asked about the considerations the American military would give to civilian targets.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are always thinking about those considerations and developing options to be able to mitigate those risks,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n