Washington: US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has assured nervous Americans that this is not the start of another “endless war” in the Middle East, pledging a swift campaign aimed at destroying Iran’s weaponry, not regime change or nation-building.
Hegseth also criticised the US’s “traditional allies”, accusing them of being hesitant and indecisive about using military force, in comments that were widely interpreted as being directed primarily at Britain, which dallied in allowing the US to use its bases for strikes on Iran.
Israel, which has conducted the strikes with the US, was a “capable partner” with a clear mission, Hegseth said – whereas other allies would “wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force”.
The European Union issued a statement on Sunday calling for “maximum restraint” and “the full respect of international law”. Australia and Canada, in similarly worded statements, said they supported US actions to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon and continuing to pose a threat to peace.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump made his feelings known about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, telling the UK’s Daily Telegraph he was “very disappointed in Keir” for blocking the US from using the British island of Diego Garcia in the operation.
Starmer has relented and will allow the base to be used for “defensive” purposes. But he said the UK would not join in with “regime change from the skies”.
Hegseth’s news conference on Monday (US time) with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Dan “Razin” Caine, marked the first time senior Trump administration officials fronted the cameras to answer questions about the strikes, which began late Friday night into Saturday morning.
Hegseth said the US’s objectives were to destroy Iran’s missile stocks and its capacity to produce them, destroy its navy and security infrastructure, and prevent it developing nuclear weapons.
He objected to inquiries from reporters about the timeline Trump had put on the campaign – four to five weeks – calling it a “gotcha question”. But he was emphatic it would not turn into an open-ended war.
“This is not Iraq, this is not endless … Our generation knows better and so does this president,” Hegseth said.
“He [Trump] called the last 20 years of nation-building wars dumb, and he’s right. This is the opposite. This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes.”
Hegseth said regardless of the views of “so-called international institutions”, the US military was unleashing “the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history” against the Iranian regime.
“We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” he said. “America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history.
“All on our terms, with maximum authorities. No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don’t waste time, or lives.”
A fourth American service member was confirmed dead by US Central Command on Monday (Washington time). The person was wounded during Iran’s initial counter-attack and died from their injuries.
Caine said more manpower was headed to the region – specifically, “tactical aviation” – though he declined to give further detail. “We’re just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and total combat power,” he said.
Hegseth did not rule out putting American boots on the ground, saying he would not signal what the US may or may not do in combat.
Trump made similar remarks to The New York Post. “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground,” he told the newspaper. “Every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it.”
Meanwhile, Trump made numerous remarks suggesting the scale of the campaign would ramp up. “We haven’t even started hitting them hard,” he told CNN. “The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
Speaking at a military honours ceremony at the White House, Trump rejected the idea he would quickly tire of the operation in Iran and seek an off-ramp.
He said that while he planned for a four-to-five week campaign, the US had the capacity to fight for far longer, and he would do whatever it takes.
“I don’t get bored,” he said. “There’s nothing boring about this.”
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.