US will launch 'largest strike package yet' against Iran today: Hegseth

The US defence secretary reiterated that only President Donald Trump would decide when the war would end, adding that Iran's naval and missile manufacturing capabilities had been severely eroded

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington would carry out its “largest strike package yet” on Thursday as operations against Iran continue, asserting at a Pentagon briefing that the US was “winning decisively” and on its own terms.

 

Speaking at the Pentagon, Hegseth said: “Today will be the largest strike package yet.”

 

Addressing reporters, he said: “We’re winning decisively and on our terms.”

 

Hegseth also claimed that Iran has lost all of its 11 submarines, adding that the country’s military ports were “crippled", while its ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles had been hit the hardest.

 

He pointed out that Iranian missile strikes had dropped by 90 per cent and drone attacks by 95 per cent since the conflict began nearly three weeks ago.

 

Dismissing concerns about the conduct of the war and the risk of a broader regional escalation as “noise”, Hegseth declined to outline a timeline for the conflict’s end.

 

“The president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to on behalf of the American people to ensure our security,’” he said.

 

The US-Israel conflict with Iran has entered its 20th day, with little sign of easing. Following a strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, Tehran, having warned of a strong retaliation, launched missiles that reportedly hit Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City. Drone strikes have also targeted refineries in Kuwait, along with facilities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.