Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday said the U.S. military operation to strike Iran has utilized “classified effects,” with U.S. Central Command having also alluded to “special capabilities” it could not yet disclose publicly.
Two days after initiating the strike campaign, Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters on the operation’s objectives, to include details on some of the weapons systems deployed to date.
“The mission of Operation Epic Fury is laser-focused: Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure and they will never have nuclear weapons. We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” Hegseth said.
The U.S. and Israel began carrying out a series of strikes early on Saturday as part of what President Donald Trump called “major combat operations” in Iran.
The operation’s launch followed weeks of U.S. military buildup in the region and talks between the Trump administration and the Iranian government over the state of Tehran’s nuclear program, with the president having alluded to the potential of military strikes if demands were not met to end nuclear enrichment initiatives.
“Iran’s stubborn and self-evident nuclear pursuits, their targeting of global shipping lanes and their swelling arsenal of ballistic missiles and killer drones were no longer — are no longer — tolerable risks. Iran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions,” Hegseth said.
The attack has resulted in the death of more than 550 Iranians, according to the Red Crescent organization, with Iranian authorities saying a strike that hit a school in Minab, Iran killed at least 165 people including children. As of Monday morning, the Pentagon had confirmed six U.S. deaths in the action.
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily first published a version of this story.