War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the United States was preparing for what he described as the "most intense day of strikes" yet in the ongoing military campaign against Iran.
Hegseth made the comments in a briefing he held with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at the Pentagon.
Hegseth said the next wave of U.S. attacks would significantly escalate the pace and scale of the air campaign that has been underway since the start of the U.S.-led operation targeting Iranian military infrastructure.
He said Tuesday's operations were designed to further degrade Iran's missile systems, naval capabilities, and weapons production facilities.
"Today will be the most intense day of bombing so far," Hegseth said, emphasizing that U.S. forces were prepared to carry out a large number of coordinated strikes across multiple targets inside Iran.
Hegseth told reporters that the campaign — which the Pentagon has described as a focused military effort — aims to dismantle Iran's ability to launch missile and drone attacks and prevent the country from advancing toward nuclear weapons capabilities.
He insisted the United States is making significant progress in achieving those objectives.
Caine provided additional details about the military impact of the operation so far, telling reporters that Iranian offensive capabilities have been sharply reduced since the strikes began.
According to Caine, Iranian ballistic missile launches have dropped by roughly 90% and drone attacks have declined by more than 80% as coalition forces have targeted key military infrastructure.
Caine said Iran's military response so far has not exceeded what U.S. officials expected when the campaign began.
"They're fighting, and I respect that," he said. "I don't think they're more formidable than we thought."
Caine said U.S. forces have also struck naval assets and weapons manufacturing sites, including missile and drone production facilities, as part of a broader effort to limit Iran's ability to sustain attacks across the region.
He added that the campaign has already destroyed dozens of Iranian ships and significantly weakened Tehran's naval operations.
Despite the escalation in airstrikes, Hegseth said the United States is not pursuing regime change in Iran and described the operation as a targeted military campaign rather than an open-ended war.
The briefing came as the wider regional conflict continued to intensify. Iranian forces have launched missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and several Gulf states, raising fears of broader instability across the Middle East and disrupting global energy markets.
Hegseth said the United States would continue the military campaign until Iran's ability to threaten the region is decisively reduced, adding that the timeline for ending the conflict would be determined by U.S. strategic objectives.
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