The United States has clarified its aims within the ongoing army operations in opposition to Iran, stressing that the marketing campaign shouldn’t be a nation-building effort just like the Iraq battle, and warning that extra US casualties needs to be anticipated.Speaking at a Pentagon briefing on Monday, US protection secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned, operations in Iran aren’t Iraq and the battle shouldn’t be going be “endless”. He additionally asserted that US president Trump believes that concept of nation constructing wars that America was concerned in for final 20 years was “dumb.”
“This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both. Our generation knows better, and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation building wars dumb, and he’s right,” he said. Hegseth described the strikes as a “clear, devastating, decisive mission” focused on destroying Iran’s missile threat, naval capabilities, and preventing nuclear advancement, emphasizing that this is not a regime-change operation. “This is not a so-called ‘regime change war’ but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it,” he added.
More losses expected
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Dan Caine, said the operation “is not a single, overnight operation” and warned that more US casualties are likely. Four American servicemembers have been killed since US and Israeli strikes began over the weekend, including in a suspected drone attack in Kuwait.Caine expressed condolences to the families of the fallen, calling them “heroes and representing the best our nation has to offer. They’re true examples of what selfless service means.”The US military said that the strikes are the result of months and, in some cases, years of deliberate planning. The top American commander said US forces “delivered synchronized and layered effects designed to disrupt, degrade, deny and destroy Iran’s ability to conduct sustained combat operations on the US side.”
How long the war would be
Hegseth defended the timing of the strikes, saying Iranian officials had stalled negotiations despite multiple opportunities to reach a peaceful deal. “The former regime had every chance to make a peaceful and sensible deal. But Tehran was not negotiating. They were stalling,” he said. On the timeline for operations, Hegseth declined to provide specifics. “As far as time frame, I would never hang a time frame,” he said, noting that President Donald Trump retains the latitude to define it.The US has framed the mission as restricted and focused, specializing in neutralizing particular threats fairly than partaking in long-term occupation or reconstruction, signalling a definite strategic method in comparison with previous Middle East conflicts.
