President Donald Trump got "the last laugh" after the leader of the unit that attempted to assassinate him was killed, War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.
Standing alongside Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine at a Pentagon press conference broadcast live on Newsmax, Hegseth said the Iranian operative was "hunted down and killed" during the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury.
The U.S.-Israeli campaign aimed at dismantling Iran's missile, drone, naval, and nuclear threat infrastructure succeeded in bringing down the notorious unit leader.
While Hegseth said the figure linked to the assassination plot was not the main focus of the operation, he confirmed the strike occurred after U.S. forces "eventually had the opportunity" to target those who were "trying to get at Americans."
"Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh," Hegseth said.
Iranian state television previously aired imagery tied to the 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally shooting with a menacing warning that "this time, the bullet won't miss."
The Pentagon briefing described the first four days as a rapid degradation of Iran's ability to project power.
Caine said Iran's theater ballistic missile launches were down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a further 23% drop in the past 24 hours, while one-way attack drone launches were down 73% from the opening days.
Caine also said U.S. forces have struck more than 2,000 targets so far, and the campaign is shifting from standoff weapons to "stand-in" precision strikes as U.S. and Israeli aircraft expand their freedom of maneuver over Iran.
Hegseth touted what he called U.S.-Israeli control of Iranian airspace "in under a week," describing a pace that will keep Iranian launchers, production sites, and leadership nodes under constant pressure.
The Pentagon also highlighted maritime gains aimed at keeping strategic waterways open. Caine said U.S. forces have destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels and effectively neutralized Iran's major naval presence in the theater.
He pointed to a U.S. Navy fast-attack submarine sinking an Iranian warship with a Mark 48 torpedo — an event officials described as the first torpedo sinking of an enemy combatant since World War II.
Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28 under U.S. Central Command, which said early strikes targeted Iran's security apparatus, including missile and drone launch sites, air defenses, and command-and-control facilities.
Hegseth and Caine emphasized the campaign’s objective is not nation-building but preventing Iran from threatening Americans and allies and severing any pathway to a nuclear weapon, while maintaining what they described as strong U.S. defensive stockpiles and layered regional air and missile defenses.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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