Hegseth calls Iran strikes ‘most lethal’ aerial operation in history

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth late on Saturday broke his silence about the U.S. strikes on Iran, which he described as the “most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history.”

“The Iranian regime had their chance, yet refused to make a deal — and now they are suffering the consequences,” Hegseth said in a post on the social platform X. “For almost fifty years, Iran has targeted and killed Americans, always seeking the world’s most powerful weapons to further their radical cause. Last night, unlike any previous president, President Trump began dealing with this cancer.”

He added that any Iranian missiles targeting American people in the aftermath of the mission, officially dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” will not be tolerated. He also promised that the Iranian navy “will be destroyed.”

“The United States did not start this conflict, but we will finish it,” Hegseth warned. “If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world — as Iran has — then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.”

The Defense secretary’s comments come after the United States and Israel launched waves of strikes early Saturday morning against Iran following weeks of tensions between Washington and Tehran. Iran swiftly retaliated, firing drones and ballistic missiles at Israel and also attacking targets in Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Trump later confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ruled over Iran for more than three decades, was killed.

The White House posted several photos on its official X account showing Trump monitoring the military operation from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. Another photo shows Vice President Vance in the White House Situation Room with some Cabinet secretaries. While Hegseth doesn’t appear in the photos, Reuters reported that he was present at Trump’s resort monitoring the strikes.

“Our warriors are the best in the world, and they are fully unleashed to achieve our objectives. May God’s providence protect them in this vital mission,” the secretary’s post concluded.

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