Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke to reporters on Monday about the ongoing conflict in Iran. He vehemently denied that the United States was entering into another long-term boondoggle in the Middle East.
“This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both. Our generation knows better, and so does this president,” Hegseth said.
When reached by Salon, the Pentagon declined to offer clarification on Hegseth’s comments.
U.S. and Israeli forces launched joint strikes on Iran on Saturday. The airstrikes left widespread destruction throughout Iran, and resulted in the deaths of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking Iranian military officials. The civilian death toll is reportedly in the hundreds.
Hegseth told reporters that Iran has been waging war against the US for “47 long years,” dating back to the overthrow of the shah in 1979. He called the strikes “retribution against their ayatollah and his death cult” while denying that. the U.S. sought to remove the ayatollah from power.
“This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it,” Hegseth said.
When asked about a timeline for operations, Hegseth lashed out at the press, stressing that the US has “set the terms of this war from start to finish.”
For his part, President Donald Trump warned that more strikes are planned for Iran.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday. “We’re knocking the crap out of them…We’ve got the greatest military in the world, and we’re using it.”
Trump offered a clearer view of the timeline for the operation than Hegseth. He said that he expected the conflict to come to an end within the month.
“I always thought it would be four weeks,” he said, “And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
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Despite Trump’s rosy outlook, support for U.S. strikes against Iran is low among Americans. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that roughly 27% of Americans support the strikes, while more than 70% either oppose them or are uncertain. On Capitol Hill, members of Congress are notably divided on the legality of the strikes.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., defended the operation. Both lawmakers are strong supporters of Israel. Gottheimer said the strikes, “with our key democratic ally Israel” were carried out to “defend our national security,” while Fetterman praised Trump for being “willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.”
Most Republicans voiced support for the strikes, but there were some notable outliers in the GOP.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a co-sponsor of a bipartisan war powers resolution meant to pull the U.S. out of the conflict, called the strikes a distraction from the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files.
“Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will,” Massie said.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. said he “sympathy for the plight of the Iranian people” while has decrying the airstrikes as the start of “yet another preemptive war.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., called for Congress to “rein in this president” and asked the upper chamber to vote on a separate war powers resolution.
“It should have been brought to the floor before this President sent troops into harm’s way with no explanation or plan,” Kelly wrote on X.
Legislators will vote on both resolutions this week, though their futures are uncertain. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., gave the odds for Massie’s resolution passing the House at “40 to 60 percent,” while Fetterman said Kaine’s resolution is “an empty gesture.”
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