Hegseth Says US ‘Finishing’ 47-Year War With Iran Under Trump

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the United States is “finishing” what he described as a 47-year war with Iran under President Donald Trump.

According to The Guardian, speaking at a Pentagon press conference on Monday, March 2, Hegseth said the Iranian regime had waged a “savage, one-sided war against America” for “47 long years.”

“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,” Hegseth said.

He cited past attacks, including “car bombs in Beirut, rocket attacks on our ships, murders at our embassies, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Hegseth said the US operation against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, aims to destroy Iranian offensive missile capabilities, missile production facilities, naval assets and what he described as security infrastructure linked to nuclear ambitions.

“We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” he said, adding that eliminating Iranian capabilities “won’t happen overnight.”

When asked whether the conflict could spiral into a prolonged war, Hegseth said the administration would not disclose operational timelines.

“President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take: four weeks, two weeks, six weeks,” he said. “We’re going to execute, at his command, the objectives we’ve set out to achieve.”

Hegseth also said there were currently no plans to deploy US ground troops to Iran, but declined to rule out future options.

Other Topics of Interest

Crimea Cuts, St. Pete Double Tap, Boats Bashed

Ukraine launched a major long-range drone campaign against Russia, striking St. Petersburg’s oil terminal, the Kronshtadt naval base, and multiple ships in the Azov Sea — timed to embarrass Putin’s high-profile Petersburg security conference. Meanwhile on the ground, Russia gained just 14 square kilometers in May at a cost of roughly 30,000 casualties, a pace that even Russian milbloggers call unsustainable. In Romania, a second stray Russian drone found near Băsești drew no meaningful NATO response.

On Tuesday, Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine are expected to brief members of Congress alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, according to the White House.

On Feb. 28, Iran launched missiles across the region after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a wave of US and Israeli air strikes. 

Several Gulf states have reported incoming projectiles or airspace violations in recent days, with governments across the region calling for de-escalation. 

Also on Monday, a suspected Iranian drone struck a British military base in Cyprus.

The UK has said it will allow the US to use its bases in the region to repel Iran’s retaliatory attacks, while France has also said that it is “ready to participate” in the defense of the Gulf states.