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Hegseth claims decisive US military victory over Iran

AL-Monitor
Apr 8, 2026
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a press briefing in the Pentagon Press briefing room, following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a press briefing in the Pentagon Press briefing room, following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque — Kevin Lamarque

April 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the United States has had a decisive military victory over Iran and that Tehran's missile program has been functionally destroyed.

Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to reporters a day after President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of a threatened full-on assault on Iran on Tuesday night, two hours before a deadline he had set for Tehran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

Caine saidU.S. military objectives in Iran have been met but the ceasefire is a pause and forces remain ready to resume combat.

Hegseth said the U.S. military was "hanging around" in the Middle East to ensure Iran complies with the two-week ceasefire and to monitor the country's enriched uranium stockpile.

"On the uranium, we're watching it. We know what they have, and they will give it up, and we'll get it. We'll take it if we have to," Hegseth told reporters.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, writing by Michelle Nichols, editing by Katharine Jackson)