Despite air dominance, US ‘can’t stop everything’ Iran fires, Hegseth says

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged on Wednesday that some Iranian air attacks may still hit their targets even as he asserted that U.S. military superiority is quickly giving it control of the Islamic Republic’s airspace.

The United States has spared “no expense or capability” to enhance air defense systems to protect American forces and allies in the Middle East, Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in a war that has widened throughout the region.

“This does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” he said.

The acknowledgment that additional drone or missile strikes in the region could cause damage and harm to troops comes as President Donald Trump and top defense leaders have warned that more American casualties were expected in a conflict that began Saturday and could last months.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration revealed that a U.S. submarine fired a torpedo that sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.

‘The risk is still high’ to American troops

U.S. service members “remain in harm’s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference with Hegseth.

Six soldiers were killed when an Iranian drone strike hit an operations center Sunday in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait, more than 10 miles from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, says the center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.

Caine declined to answer a question about the possibility of deploying ground troops in Iran, which Trump has not ruled out.

“I’m not going to comment on U.S. boots on the ground,” Caine said. “I think that’s a question for policymakers. And I don’t make policy, I execute policy.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that it was “not part of the plan for this operation at this time” but noted that “I’m not going to remove an option for the president that is on the table.”

Hegseth suggests conflict could last up to 2 months

Hegseth also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the administration, saying it could last eight weeks but that the U.S. has the munitions and the equipment to beat Iran in a war of attrition. He declined to set a specific time range, saying the specific duration of the war would depend on how it unfolds.

“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”

More forces are arriving in the region, including jet fighters and bombers, Hegseth said, and the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”

Hegseth and Caine say US forces have enough munitions

Supplies of weaponry are not an issue, Hegseth and Caine said, with the defense secretary noting that the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign but was switching to gravity bombs now that the U.S. has gained control of the Iranian sky. Stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain “extremely strong,” Hegseth said.

Caine said U.S. attacks on Iranian missile sites and other offensive targets have been successful enough that forces can strike deeper inland, allowing for the shift from sophisticated weapons that can be launched from far away to more traditional, precision bombs dropped by aircraft.

Caine said the U.S. has “sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.” He noted that the military would not be releasing quantities, citing operational security.

“Our air defenses and that of our allies have plenty of runway,” Hegseth said. “We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.”

Trump said this week the campaign is likely to last four weeks to five weeks but he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”

The number of ballistic missiles fired by Iran is down 86% from the first day of the U.S. military’s campaign, with a 23% drop in the past 24 hours, Caine said Wednesday, and Iran’s use of one-way attack drones is down 73% from the opening days. The decrease could indicate that Iran is holding some weapons in reserve to prolong the conflict.

Americans scramble to depart the Mideast

The administration promoted its efforts to help Americans depart the region. It abruptly advised those in 14 countries to leave immediately even as the threat of missiles and drones closed airspace in the region and caused widespread flight cancellations.

The State Department said it has assisted nearly 6,500 Americans since the start of the war and was working to arrange charter flights or other transportation. Caine said the military has opened up available seats as military transport planes arrive “to try to help folks get out.”

The State Department said more than 17,500 Americans have returned to the United States from the Middle East since Saturday, including more than 8,500 on Tuesday alone, although it acknowledged that the vast majority of those used commercial transportation without any government assistance.

美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯周三承认，尽管美国军事优势正在迅速使其控制伊朗伊斯兰共和国的领空，但一些伊朗空袭可能仍然会击中目标。

美国国防部长赫格塞斯在五角大楼告诉记者，美国已“不惜一切代价和能力”加强防空系统，以保护美国及其盟友在中东的军队。几天前，美国和以色列对伊朗发动了袭击，这场战争已经蔓延至整个地区。

“这并不意味着我们可以阻止一切，但我们确保在发起进攻之前，已经建立了最大限度的防御和最大限度的武力保护，”他说。

承认在该地区进行更多无人机或导弹袭击可能会对部队造成损害和伤害，与此同时，唐纳德·特朗普总统和高级国防领导人警告说，这场始于周六并可能持续数月的冲突预计将造成更多美军伤亡。

周三，特朗普政府透露，一艘美国潜艇在印度洋发射鱼雷击沉了一艘伊朗军舰。

美国军队面临的风险仍然很高。

美国参谋长联席会议主席丹·凯恩将军在与赫格塞斯举行的新闻发布会上表示，美国军人“仍然处于危险之中，我们必须清醒地认识到风险仍然很高”。

周日，伊朗无人机袭击了科威特一处民用港口中心地带的作战中心，造成六名士兵死亡。该中心距离科威特陆军主基地超过10英里。其中一名遇难士兵的丈夫表示，该中心是一座集装箱式建筑，没有任何防御措施。遇难士兵生前隶属于驻扎在爱荷华州的后勤补给部队。

凯恩拒绝回答有关向伊朗部署地面部队的可能性的问题，而特朗普并未排除这种可能性。

凯恩说：“我不会对美军地面部队的部署发表评论。我认为这是政策制定者的问题。我不制定政策，我只负责执行政策。”

白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特告诉记者，这“目前不属于此次行动的计划”，但她指出，“我不会排除总统目前考虑的选项”。

赫格塞斯认为冲突可能持续长达两个月。

赫格塞斯还暗示，这场冲突的持续时间可能比美国政府此前公布的要长，他表示冲突可能会持续八周，但美国拥有足够的弹药和装备，可以在消耗战中击败伊朗。他拒绝给出具体的时间范围，称战争的具体持续时间将取决于事态的发展。

“你可以说四周，但也可能是六周、八周，甚至可能只有三周，”赫格塞斯说。“最终，我们掌控着节奏和速度。敌人现在很被动，我们会让他们一直处于被动状态。”

赫格塞斯表示，包括喷气式战斗机和轰炸机在内的更多部队正在抵达该地区，美国“将不惜一切代价确保取得成功”。

赫格塞斯和凯恩表示，美军拥有足够的弹药。

赫格塞斯和凯恩表示，武器供应不成问题。国防部长指出，美军在战争初期使用了更先进的武器，但随着美国控制伊朗领空，现在已转而使用重力炸弹。赫格塞斯说，先进武器的库存仍然“非常充足”。

凯恩表示，美国对伊朗导弹基地和其他进攻目标的袭击已经取得了足够的成功，使美军能够打击更深入内陆的目标，从而可以从远距离发射的先进武器转向飞机投掷的更传统的精确炸弹。

凯恩表示，美国拥有“足够的精确制导武器，足以应对当前的进攻和防御任务”。他指出，出于作战安全考虑，军方不会透露具体数量。

“我们和盟友的防空系统拥有充足的空间，”赫格塞斯说。“我们可以轻松地将这场战斗持续下去，直到我们不再需要它为止。”

特朗普本周表示，竞选活动可能会持续四到五周，但他已做好“持续更长时间”的准备。

凯恩周三表示，伊朗发射的弹道导弹数量比美军军事行动首日下降了86%，其中过去24小时内下降了23%；伊朗使用单向攻击无人机的数量也比行动初期下降了73%。这一降幅可能表明，伊朗保留了一些武器以延长冲突。

美国人争相离开中东

美国政府大力宣传其帮助美国公民离开该地区的举措。尽管导弹和无人机的威胁导致该地区空域关闭，航班大面积取消，但政府仍突然建议身处14个国家的公民立即撤离。

美国国务院表示，自战争爆发以来，已为近6500名美国公民提供援助，并正在安排包机或其他交通工具。凯恩表示，随着军用运输机抵达，军方已开放部分座位，“尽力帮助民众撤离”。

美国国务院表示，自周六以来，已有超过 17500 名美国人从中东返回美国，仅周二一天就有超过 8500 人返回，但国务院也承认，其中绝大多数人是乘坐商业交通工具返回的，没有得到任何政府援助。