Pete Hegseth’s Claim Reshapes How Soldiers and Sailors Face Iran War Middle East
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth stood at a briefing, updating the nation on the campaign he framed as the Trump administration’s response to Iran’s attacks. His assessment — that Iran’s missile volume had fallen 90% and drones 95% — was offered as the US prepares for more strikes in the Iran War Middle East.
Pete Hegseth and Iran War Middle East assessment
At the podium Pete Hegseth described a picture of broken supply chains and damaged facilities. He said Iran’s missile volume is down 90% and that its one-way attack drones were down 95% yesterday, and he added that Iran does not have the ability to build any more weapons. Hegseth used blunt language about infrastructure: “Their production lines, their military plants, their defence innovation centres; defeated. Iran’s leadership is in no better shape. ” He went on to say the leadership was “desperate and hiding, they’ve gone underground, cowering – that’s what rats do. ” President Trump has also told reporters the Iran war will be over “very soon”, though not this week, a claim the administration is using to frame the next phase of operations.
United Arab Emirates air defences and the missile tally
On the ground, the United Arab Emirates reported a heavy day of intercepts. UAE air defences intercepted 27 drones and seven ballistic missiles today, the UAE defence ministry said. Since the start of the conflict, the ministry has tallied 285 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1, 567 drones heading into their territory. The fighting has reached the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries around a fifth of global oil supplies, and that strategic conduit has been central to the administration’s public justifications for heightened military activity.
Israel, the Zrarieh Bridge strike and Israel Katz’s warning
Israel’s military said it struck the Zrarieh Bridge spanning the Litani River early on Friday, in what appears to be the first time Israel has acknowledged attacking civilian infrastructure in Lebanon since the conflict began. Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, warned the Lebanese government “will pay increasing costs through damage to infrastructure and loss of territory” until Hezbollah is disarmed, and he said, “This is only the beginning. ” Katz’s statement framed the strike as part of a pressure campaign aimed at armed groups in Lebanon.
During his press conference Pete Hegseth also addressed reports of new mines in the Strait of Hormuz. He said there is no clear evidence that Iran has placed new mines in the strait and pushed back on earlier reporting about mine deployments: “We’ve heard them talk about it just like you’ve reported recklessly and wildly about it. But… we have no clear evidence of that. ” Hegseth’s remarks closed the loop on one immediate tactical concern even as other elements of the campaign continue to be tallied.
Pete Hegseth opened the briefing by laying out the military picture; he closed it by saying investigators had found no clear sign of new mines in the Strait of Hormuz. For now, that assessment stands as the next confirmed development from the press conference, even as air defences in the United Arab Emirates and the strike on the Zrarieh Bridge remain visible markers of how forces and civilians are being drawn into the Iran War Middle East campaign.
