U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that Washington’s objectives in the war against Iran remain unchanged since strikes began on Feb. 28 and declined to set any timeline for ending the conflict.
The United States has carried out strikes against 7,000 targets inside Iran so far, and hit more than 40 Iranian mine-laying vessels and 11 submarines, according to the Pentagon.
"Our objectives, given directly from our America-first president, remain exactly what they were on day one," Hegseth told reporters.
"These are not the media's objectives, not Iran's objectives, not new objectives. Our objectives - unchanged, on target and on plan," Hegseth added. He spent several minutes in his opening statement criticizing the press.
Hegseth told reporters that the objectives remained to destroy Iran's missile launchers, as well as its defense industrial base and navy and to never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
Responding to the media, Hegseth also added that there is no "time frame" for ending the war, which was launched three weeks ago.
"We wouldn't want to set a definitive time frame," Hegseth told a news conference, adding that "we're very much on track" and that President Donald Trump will be the one to decide when to stop.
"It will be at the president's choosing, ultimately, where we say, 'Hey, we've achieved what we need to.'"
Hegseth also addressed a report that the Pentagon has requested more than $200 billion in additional funding from Congress to pay for the conflict.
"As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move. Obviously it takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth said.
"We're going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future," he said.
In the same briefing, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. military remained on track to achieve the objectives and the United States was striking deeper into Iranian territory every day.
He also provided details on weapons being used against Iran and its allied forces in the region.
Caine said A-10 Warthogs – a type of aircraft designed for providing close air support – are "hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft" in the key Strait of Hormuz waterway, which Iran effectively closed to maritime traffic following the start of the war.
He also said AH-64 Apaches are being used in Iraq to target Iran-aligned militia groups there and that some U.S. allies have begun using the attack helicopters to counter one-way drones launched by Tehran's forces.