The American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, stated in a new press conference this Wednesday (4) that the USA will not give Iran a truce and is prepared to remain in the conflict for an “indefinite period of time”.
According to him, the military campaign is intensifying with the arrival of more warplanes in the region. For its part, Turkey announced moments before the speech that NATO shot down a ballistic missile fired from Iran, whose debris fell on Turkish territory.
US says it is close to gaining control of Iranian airspace
The US Secretary of War said the latest military reports indicate that the US and Israel will control Iranian airspace within the next two days.
“I hope everyone watching understands what unchallenged airspace and total control means,” he said. “It means we will fly day and night, locating and destroying the Iranian military’s missiles and defense industrial base.”
Hegseth declared that his country is “decisively winning” the war and announced that it will begin using precision gravity bombs, of which Washington has an “almost unlimited” arsenal.
“More bombers and more fighters are arriving today, and now, with full control of the skies, we will employ 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have virtually unlimited supplies,” he warned.
The representative of Donald Trump’s government highlighted that it is the USA that dictates the pace of this war. “We can keep this fight going for as long as we need,” he claimed.
According to Hegseth, the rapid military superiority achieved by the countries allowed the US to no longer use long-range weapons to degrade Iranian air defenses. Now, according to him, the country will be able to target Iranian targets using much cheaper guided bombs.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Exposes Drop in Iran Missile Attacks
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Dan Caine, also participated in this Wednesday’s press conference. At the time, he presented some data that indicate a loss of strength in Iran with Operation Epic Fury.
He said Iran’s ballistic missile attacks were down 86% from the first day of fighting, “with a 23% reduction in the last 24 hours alone.” Iran’s unilateral drone strikes are down 73%.
According to the general, this advance in the military campaign allows the American and Israeli armed forces to accelerate the pace of already robust air attacks.
Without providing details, Caine still considered the Iranian military command and control structure “in poor condition.”
Pentagon denies responsibility for school attack in Iran and announces investigation
The American Secretary of Defense denied allegations that the US was involved in a targeted attack on a school in Iran, which left more than a hundred people dead, according to data released by the Iranian regime.
“All I can say is that we are investigating and that, obviously, we never attack civilian targets,” he said, adding that the investigation into the attack continues.
Gulf countries collaborate with US to protect themselves from Iranian missiles
Hegseth also stated at the press conference that American allies in the Persian Gulf would be collaborating and coordinating their air defenses with the US to protect themselves from new Iranian attacks. Some of them are United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
In recent days, thousands of missiles and drones have been launched against countries in the region, an action that is seen as part of Iran’s strategy to stop the war.
NATO involvement? Türkiye warns Iran it will respond to hostile actions after missile attack
The Turkish government warned on Wednesday that it would respond to hostile actions after NATO air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran, whose debris fell on Turkish territory.
Turkey “will not hesitate to defend its territory and airspace” and “will respond to hostile actions within the framework of international law”, for which it is in contact with its NATO allies, Presidential Information Chief Burhanettin Duran stated on X.
NATO air defenses in Turkey intercepted an Iranian missile over the Eastern Mediterranean, and debris from anti-aircraft ammunition fell in the far south of the country without causing casualties or damage, the Turkish government said.
Following the incident, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi to urge him to avoid any action that could escalate the conflict, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported, citing Turkish Defense Ministry sources.
The Defense statement did not specify the target of the Iranian missile, but the trajectory described is consistent with a missile fired from western Iran toward the Incirlik air base near Adana in southern Turkey. This air base is the main support point for other NATO allies in Türkiye and also houses American units.
