Hegseth and Kane declare “decisive military victory” over Iran at Pentagon briefing

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain held a briefing at the Pentagon on Wednesday. It was the first public appearance by senior administration officials since announcing a two-week truce with Iran.

Hegseth said the United States had won a “decisive military victory.” According to him, Iran “is no longer capable of producing missiles, launchers and drones – its factories have been razed to the ground,” and it was Iran that “begged” for a truce.

Pete Hegseth said that in accordance with the terms of the agreement, all nuclear materials will be removed from Iran. “The President made it clear from the very beginning that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Period. Other presidents have said the same thing, but Trump did it.”

General Kane, in turn, welcomed the ceasefire agreement, but stressed that the US armed forces are ready to resume military operations “on demand.”

When asked by reporters about President Trump’s threat yesterday, which said that “an entire civilization could perish,” Hegseth said that the United States was ready to implement it if an agreement had not been reached. “We were given a goal of infrastructure, bridges and power plants. We were ready to implement it.” Hegseth added that it was Trump’s warning that forced Iran to the negotiating table.