WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Monday to widening concerns that could spiral into a protracted regional conflict by declaring: 鈥淭his is not Iraq. This is not endless,” even as he warned that in the weeks ahead.
While the Trump administration has cited as the chief concern to be addressed, officials increasingly are pointing to the threat from as a key reason to launch the attacks as well as an opportunity to and the sense that have stalled.
Trump said Monday that Iran鈥檚 conventional missile program 鈥渨as growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas.鈥�
Hegseth said at a separate press conference with Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the operation had a 鈥渄ecisive mission鈥� to eliminate the threat of Iranian ballistic missiles, destroy the country鈥檚 navy and ensure 鈥渘o nukes.鈥�
Trump, Hegseth and Caine have not suggested any exit plan or offered signs that the conflict would end anytime soon as cast doubt on the future of and hurtled the region into broader instability. Caine said the biggest in decades would only grow because the commander in the region 鈥渨ill receive additional forces even today.鈥�
鈥淭his is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it,鈥� Hegseth said.
Trump, however, in video statements released after the strikes began, urged the Iranian people 鈥渢o take back your country.鈥�
More American troop casualties expected
The conflict has spilled into the wider region, with Iran and its allied armed groups launching missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets in the Middle East.
Six American troops have been killed, with Trump, Hegseth and Caine predicting more casualties. All were Army soldiers and part of the same logistics unit in Kuwait, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
When asked about the six deaths Monday, Hegseth said an Iranian weapon made it past allied air defenses 鈥渁nd, in that particular case, happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified.鈥�
Eighteen American service members also have been seriously wounded, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
The latest sign of the escalating upheaval came when, the U.S. military said, ally Kuwait 鈥渕istakenly shot down鈥� during a combat mission as Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones were attacking. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely from the American F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition.
Asked if there are boots on the ground now in Iran, Hegseth said, 鈥淣o, but we鈥檙e not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do.鈥�
He said it was 鈥渇oolishness鈥� to expect U.S. officials to say publicly 鈥渉ere鈥檚 exactly how far we鈥檒l go.鈥�
Trump told the New York Post on Monday that he wasn鈥檛 ruling out U.S. forces in Iran if 鈥渢hey were necessary.鈥� He noted, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have the yips with respect to boots on the ground.”
At the White House, Trump said the mission was expected to take four to five weeks but 鈥渨e have the capability to go far longer than that.鈥�
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the Capitol that the U.S. 鈥渨ill do this as long as it takes to achieve” its objectives and warned that 鈥渢he hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military.”
Hegseth also dismissed questions about the time frame and said Trump had 鈥渓atitude鈥� to decide how long it would take. 鈥淔our weeks, two weeks, six weeks,” he said. 鈥淚t could move up. It could move back.鈥�
Pentagon gives justification for strikes
In laying out a case for the strikes, Hegseth did not point to any imminent nuclear threat from Iran and said again that 鈥渙bliterated their nuclear program to rubble.鈥�
Instead, Hegseth pointed to threats from other weaponry that justified the operation: 鈥淚ran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions.鈥�
He added: 鈥淥ur bases, our people, our allies, all in their crosshairs. Iran had a conventional gun to our head as they tried to lie their way to a nuclear bomb.鈥�
Hegseth said that during negotiations leading up to the attack, Iranian officials were 鈥渟talling” despite having 鈥渆very chance to make a peaceful and sensible deal.鈥�
He also justified the operation by describing Iran鈥檚 government as having started the conflict from its inception, declaring that for 47 years it has 鈥渨aged a savage, one-sided war against America.鈥�
, Trump administration officials told congressional staffers that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S., three people familiar with the briefings said.
Trump, a Republican, had said the objective of the mission was to eliminate 鈥渋mminent threats from the Iranian regime.鈥� And senior Trump administration officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, told reporters Saturday that there were indicators that the Iranians could launch a preemptive attack.
Military doesn’t specify Iran’s nuclear sites as targets
As with the attack that on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, Caine said the military used B-2 stealth bombers in the new operation with a 37-hour round trip.
He said the penetrating bombs were dropped on Iranian underground facilities” but did not specify that they were nuclear facilities. Nuclear sites were not among the types of targets on a list released over the weekend by U.S. Central Command.
The administration says Israel and the U.S. have bombed Iranian missile sites and targeted its navy, claiming to have destroyed its headquarters and multiple warships.
Caine on Monday referenced the use of cyber technologies, saying the U.S. 鈥渆ffectively disrupted communications and sensor networks鈥� that left 鈥渢he adversary without the ability to coordinate or respond effectively.鈥�
Without giving specifics, Caine said the military 鈥渄elivered synchronized and layered effects designed to disrupt, degrade, deny and destroy Iran鈥檚 ability to conduct and sustained combat operations on the U.S. side.鈥�
Caine said Trump gave the go-ahead order for the strikes at 3:38 p.m. EST on Friday. That meant the president gave the green light when he was aboard Air Force One heading to Texas with Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and actor Dennis Quaid.
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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Charleston, S.C.; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; David Klepper, Ben Finley and Lisa Mascaro in Washington; and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.
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