Hegseth Vows 'Most Intense Day' of Iran Strikes Tuesday
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- Hegseth declared Tuesday would be 'yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran – the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes,' while declining to give a war timeline and saying Trump 'gets to control the throttle.'
- Hegseth outlined three US war objectives: neutralise Tehran's missile capabilities, destroy its navy, and 'permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever.'
- US-Israeli strikes have killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 1,250 other people; Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel and across the region.
- Hegseth acknowledged Israel is pursuing separate goals, noting Israel's strike on Iranian oil depots was not 'necessarily' a US objective and that 'where they have different objectives, they pursued them.'
- Iran has largely succeeded in closing the Strait of Hormuz, sending fuel prices soaring; Trump threatened Iran with 'death, fire, and fury' if it does not allow oil shipments through.
- Top US General Dan Caine said the decision to use the US military to escort vessels and reopen the strait has not been taken, despite Trump's suggestion last week that the Navy could accompany oil tankers.
- Iranian official Ali Larijani projected defiance, posting that 'Those mightier than you have not been able to eliminate our nation. Those who have tried have become eradicated themselves.'
Why it matters: Hegseth's escalating rhetoric and deferral of all timeline decisions to Trump reveals a Pentagon strategy with no defined endpoint, even as Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz and driven fuel prices upward. His acknowledgment that Israel is pursuing its own separate objectives exposes a growing divergence between the two allies on war goals.
