Hegseth, Caine Lay Out How Iran Is Being Crushed, Coming Days ‘Will Be Decisive’ in Operation – RedState
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine held a briefing Tuesday morning on the progress of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Hegseth said that the “upcoming days will be decisive.” That sounds like they think they’re getting close.
.@SecWar provides an update one month into Operation Epic Fury: “The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran… We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers… Just last night, we had 200 dynamic strikes alone.” pic.twitter.com/LG8wk1a5Y6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 31, 2026
“Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,” Hegseth claimed.
The Defense Secretary said that “American firepower is only increasing,” while saying Iran’s is “decreasing.”
“Just one month in — only one month — we set the terms,” Hegseth said.
“The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran,” Hegseth said. “We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers… Just last night, we had 200 dynamic strikes alone.”
President Donald Trump posted a stunning video of the massive hit they did in Isfahan on Monday night.
READ MORE: Trump Posts Dramatic Video of Massive Strike As Huge Fireballs Erupt Over Isfahan, Iran
The Secretary said there has already been some “regime change.” If Iran is wise, Hegseth stated, they will “cut a deal.”
“President Trump doesn’t bluff, and he doesn’t back down — You can ask Khamenei about that,” he declared.
“This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last…The terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the U.S. war department will continue with even more intensity.“
Hegseth made a very important point about the question of boots on the ground and stressed they had learned lessons from prior wars.
.@SecWar: “Look at [@POTUS‘s] track record of pursuing Peace Through Strength, America First outcomes… We’re not going to foreclose any option. You can’t and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do.” pic.twitter.com/1NYGiTWTDA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 31, 2026
“You can’t win a war if you tell your adversary what you’re going to do,” he said. That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily going to put boots on the ground. But you can’t foreclose options or telegraph what you are going to do, or not do, he explained. You have to have all options available.
Hegseth said more ships were now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, but other nations needed to step up as well.
“There are many more vessels flowing through today than there were,” says @SecWar on the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think @POTUS was clear this morning in his Truth, that there are countries around the world who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well.” pic.twitter.com/U9f9z6OTNE
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 31, 2026
Gen. Caine laid out more of what they had achieved in the fight. They’ve hit more than 11,000 targets. He highlighted that they were now able to use B-52s for overland missions because they had attained air superiority.
.@thejointstaff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine says the U.S. continues to strike key Iranian manufacturing nodes, component storage sites, and research facilities: “Over the past 30 days, we’ve struck more than 11,000 targets.”
“We’ve taken out more than 150 ships, including all… pic.twitter.com/V8YGiQb6UV
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 31, 2026
He said that has allowed them to take out more and more targets, including mobile targets. That’s good because one of the concerns had been mobile missile launchers, so that increases the capability to deal with them. Caine explained that they continue to go after the missile and drone capabilities.
Then on the naval front, they’ve also clobbered them.
“We’ve taken out more than 150 ships,” he explained. They’re also using attack helicopters and dealing with the mine-laying issue and naval depots.
Then, too, he detailed how they were continuing to go after their “defense industrial base at scale.”
“This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons R&D labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability.”
That’s a pretty daunting list, and it sounds like they’re crushing them as much as they can.
Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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