US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth briefed the press on Tuesday on the situation of Operation Epic Fury and revealed that over the weekend, he visited troops in the Middle East participating in the operation against Iran.
He shared that he spent nearly half a day at the US Central Command area of operation. However, for reasons of operational security, he did not name the exact locations he visited. Reflecting on the visit, he said it was "an honor" and that he "had a chance to bear witness, and I witnessed the best of America. I witnessed warriors, a brotherhood of men and women, warriors all."
Among the encounters that he recounted, Hegseth told of a junior airman who, when asked what they needed, answered: "More bombs, and bigger bombs." To this, the secretary answered, "We will happily oblige."
He also revealed that the three US pilots who were accidentally shot down over Kuwait several weeks ago all remained in the theater, and all dropped bombs the previous night.
According to Hegseth, the servicemembers on the front lines "live the Iranian threat every day and know what the world would look like if Iran had the most dangerous weapons in the world. These troops want to finish this fight for their kids and the world. This is about history; this is about legacy."
He stated that the coming months will be "decisive," adding that "Iran knows that, and there is nothing they could do militarily about that."
The secretary reported that the last 24 hours saw the lowest amount of missiles and drones fired by Iran.
Hegseth also claimed that "regime change has occurred," referring to the fact that the majority of the original leadership has been eliminated. He said that the new leaders should be wiser than their predecessors and they should make a deal.
The secretary called on other countries to join the effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, noting that they rely on it more than the US does.
Asked about support for the Iranian regime by China and Russia, Hegseth said that the US is aware of "exactly what they are doing." While initially he did not specify, saying that the US was addressing the issue, he later hinted that the adversaries were providing the regime with intelligence regarding the locations of US air assets.