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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

George Caldwell / @GCaldwell_news

George Caldwell is a correspondent for The Daily Signal. Send an email to George.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns of a protracted nation-building exercise in Iran, arguing the military’s strikes there serve America’s interests.

“To the media outlets and political left screaming, ‘endless wars,’ stop. This is not Iraq, this is not endless. I was there for both. Our generation knows better and so does this president,” said Hegseth at a Pentagon briefing Monday morning, following a joint military operation with Israel which commenced early Saturday morning.

“This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes,” he said of Operation Epic Fury.

U.S. and Israeli forces coordinated in striking individuals and targets across Iran in Operation Epic Fury. Iran has retaliated with strikes on Israel and U.S. bases in nearby countries.

Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during the attack, according to President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Iranian state media. He had been the country’s supreme leader since 1989.

During the briefing, Hegseth also said “this is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.”

Hegseth described the American strikes as the capstone to a half century of conflict between Iran and the United States.

“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump we are finishing it,” said Hegseth. “Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah.”

Hegseth also presented the operation as sending a message to America’s enemies.

“If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on earth, we will hunt you down wihtout apology and without hesitation and we will kill you,” he said.

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