Operation Epic Fury is “just the beginning” of American combat operations in Iran, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine told reporters Monday, signaling that additional action could follow the initial wave of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.
The two leaders said the coordinated operation — which reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — was the result of months of planning with President Donald Trump and would continue “on his terms.”
“This is not a single overnight operation,” Caine said during the briefing. “Our military objectives are clear: our mission is to protect and defend ourselves, and together with our regional partners prevent Iran from the ability to project power outside of its borders and be ready for follow-on actions as appropriate.”
Hegseth declined to provide a specific timeline for how long U.S. military action would continue. While noting that no American troops are currently deployed on the ground inside Iran, he emphasized that all options remain open.
“We are not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” Hegseth said. “We’ll go as far as we need to go to advance American interests. But we’re not dumb about it — you don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years.”
Hegseth also defended the legality and necessity of the strikes, which some lawmakers criticized because Congress did not hold a formal authorization vote, though key members reportedly received advance notice.
According to Hegseth, Iran’s growing missile arsenal and nuclear ambitions required decisive action.
“Iran has the ability to project power against us and our allies in ways that we can’t tolerate,” he said. “They were building up this conventional arsenal in order to ensure that no one would ever block them from their ability to get nuclear weapons.”
He added that recent American casualties — including three U.S. service members killed in Iranian counterstrikes — have strengthened U.S. resolve.
“We fight to win,” Hegseth said. “We fight to achieve the objectives the President of the United States has laid out, and we will do so unapologetically.”
