{"id":180670,"date":"2026-03-06T12:20:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T12:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/180670\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T12:20:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T12:20:27","slug":"secretary-of-war-pete-hegseth-gave-update-on-iran-conflict-in-tampa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/180670\/","title":{"rendered":"Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave update on Iran conflict in Tampa"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Tampa on Thursday for a briefing at United States Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, where military leaders are overseeing many U.S. operations in Iran and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The visit comes as the United States continues Operation Epic Fury, a military campaign targeting Iran\u2019s military infrastructure.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave update on Iran conflict at MacDill AFB in Tampa<\/p>\n

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave update on Iran conflict at MacDill AFB in Tampa<\/p>\n

Hegseth praised the service members working at CENTCOM after touring the command\u2019s tactical operations center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a chance to go into the control room, into the tactical operations center, go see these young men and women that are doing this, the dedication that they show at every level, the way that they\u2019ve refined their craft,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

The defense secretary also credited Donald Trump for taking a more aggressive approach toward Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n

Watch full press conference with Sec. Hegseth<\/p>\n

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave update on Iran conflict at MacDill AFB in Tampa<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 47 years, he is doing something no other president has been willing to do,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

During the briefing, CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper said U.S. forces have sharply increased the pace of strikes inside Iran.<\/p>\n

In just the past several days, American bombers have struck more than 200 targets, including deeply buried missile launch sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are at full speed ahead,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cWe are fighting to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Secretary<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

The United States and partner forces launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, targeting what officials describe as Iran\u2019s security apparatus and facilities believed to pose imminent threats.<\/p>\n

According to CENTCOM, more than 2,000 strikes have been carried out in the first four days of the campaign using precision munitions launched from air, land and sea.<\/p>\n

During the briefing in Tampa, CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper said Iran has now launched attacks against 12 countries since the conflict began, targeting locations where it believes U.S. or allied interests are present. Hegseth said those strikes are pushing more nations in the region to work more closely with the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see, there\u2019s no shortage of American will here,” Hegseth said of the conflict. \u201cWe\u2019ve got no shortage of munitions. Our stockpiles of defense and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the gates of MacDill Air Force Base, two protesters waved Iranian and American flags while expressing support for the Trump Administration\u2019s actions in Iran.<\/p>\n

The Tampa residents, who said they have ties to Iran, told Tampa Bay 28 they hope increased pressure on the Iranian government could eventually lead to a democratic government in the country. They said many people inside Iran oppose the current regime but are waiting for the right moment to rise up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends from Iran, they all call me, and they\u2019re saying, yes, we\u2019re terrified, but we\u2019re hopeful for a better future,” said Maz Foroutan.<\/p>\n

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Couples left scrambling after Tampa Bay Area wedding venue abruptly closes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Tampa on Thursday for a briefing at United States Central…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[205,16706,276,21539,38981,135,5910,3670,137,136,208],"class_list":["post-180670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-abc-action-news","tag-centcom","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-iran","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-28","tag-tampa-bay-local-news","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-wfts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}