U.S. Defense chief vows ‘victory without mercy’… Iranian commander tied to Trump assassination attempt killed
Iranian warship sunk in Indian Ocean “for the first time since World War II”… “Iranian airspace will be controlled within days”
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine: “Iranian ballistic missile launches down 86% from day one, drones down 73%”
The United States Department of Defense said on the 4th that the United States currently holds the upper hand in its war with Iran and is prepared to sustain combat for an extended period if necessary.
Pete Hegseth, the U.S. secretary of defense, made the remarks during a briefing at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. alongside Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Today I stand before you with one clear message about Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth said. “The United States is winning decisively, destructively, and without mercy.”
Hegseth added, “It has been only four days since we launched this operation. As Donald Trump said, we will take whatever time is necessary to ensure success.”
He also stressed that the air defense systems of the United States and its allies have sufficient capacity. “We can sustain this fight for as long as necessary,” he said, adding that U.S. military forces continue to be reinforced with additional personnel and assets being deployed to the Middle East.
Hegseth further claimed that the United States and Israel would soon achieve full air superiority over Iranian airspace. “This is only the beginning stage,” he said, adding that further airstrikes would follow. He also noted that Operation Epic Fury has already deployed twice the airpower used in the “shock and awe” campaign during the 2003 Iraq War, and said the intensity of the operation is seven times stronger than the strikes Israel carried out against Iran during the recent 12-day war.
Hegseth also revealed that a U.S. Navy submarine sank an Iranian naval vessel in the Indian Ocean. “Iranian warships that believed they were safe in international waters were sunk by torpedoes fired from a U.S. submarine,” he told reporters. “This is the first time since World War II that an enemy warship has been sunk by torpedo.”
According to authorities in Sri Lanka, the Iranian naval frigate IRIS Dena sank after an explosion occurred in southern waters earlier that day. About 148 sailors are currently missing, and some casualties have also been reported.
Hegseth also said the United States had eliminated an Iranian figure connected to an assassination attempt against Trump. “We tracked down and killed the commander of the Iranian unit that attempted to assassinate President Trump,” he said. “Iran tried to assassinate President Trump, but in the end President Trump prevailed.”
Hegseth added that the terms of the war would be set by the United States at every stage. “We will destroy Iran’s missiles and drones, dismantle production facilities, eliminate naval forces and key security infrastructure, and cut off its path to nuclear weapons,” he said.
Meanwhile, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said Iran’s missile and drone launches have dropped significantly following U.S. strikes.
“The number of Iranian tactical ballistic missile launches has fallen 86% compared with the first day of combat, and has declined an additional 23% in the past 24 hours alone,” he said. He added that one-way attack drone launches have also decreased by 73%.
Caine also said that during the operation U.S. forces struck more than 2,000 targets and destroyed over 20 Iranian naval vessels, effectively neutralizing much of Iran’s key naval capability in the region.
During the Q&A session that followed, Hegseth addressed reports that a girls’ school in southern Iran had been hit in an attack. “We do not target civilian sites, but we are reviewing the matter and investigating,” he said.
Regarding reports that an Iranian ballistic missile had entered the airspace of Turkey before being intercepted by the air defense network of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Hegseth said the issue was being monitored but was unlikely to lead to the activation of NATO’s Article 5, the alliance’s collective defense clause.
Asked about criticism from China over the U.S. offensive and remarks from North Korea pledging to protect Iran, Hegseth dismissed their significance. “They are not important factors in the Iran situation,” he said. “We will address Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
