Since the start of the joint military operation, which has been going on for 14 days, the US and Israel have struck more than 15,000 targets in Iran.
Points of attention
- Over 15,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US and Israel in a joint military operation lasting for 14 days.
- The main aim of the military operation is to halt Iran's nuclear program and dismantle its armed forces.
Hegset reported on the interim results of the US and Israeli operation against Iran
According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the US is destroying the Iranian armed forces, leaving them without air defenses, a navy, and an air force.
We are shooting down and destroying the missiles they still have in stock, but more importantly, we are ensuring that they will not have the ability to produce new ones. Their production lines, their military factories, their defense innovation centers — all of these have been destroyed.
Pete Hegset
US Secretary of Defense
He said that stopping Iran's nuclear program remains the US's "primary mission" in this military operation, and they have "a whole range of options."
The President has focused on nuclear capabilities. And I will say that we have a range of options, up to and including Iran deciding to give up (nuclear weapons — ed.), which, of course, we would welcome.
He also said that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was "wounded and probably crippled."
"His father is dead, he is scared, wounded, in hiding and has no legitimacy. For them, it is real chaos. Who is in charge there? Iran may not even know," the minister noted, answering the question of why the new supreme leader published a written statement on Thursday.
Asked whether Iran is mining the Strait of Hormuz, Hegset said:
We heard them talking about it, … but we don't have clear evidence.
