Washington, March 14 (IANS) Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress are pressing the Pentagon for answers after reports that a US strike during Operation Epic Fury hit a girls’ elementary school in Iran, killing at least 175 civilians — many of them children — prompting calls for a full investigation, accountability, and stronger safeguards to prevent civilian casualties.Members of the House and Senate said the incident, which reportedly occurred on February 28 near the town of Minab, coul…
Latest Pete Hegseth News & Updates
Washington, March 13 (IANS) U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth used part of a Pentagon briefing on the Iran conflict on Friday to sharply criticise media coverage of the war and even suggest alternative headlines he said would better reflect the situation on the battlefield. Speaking during a news conference alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth accused sections of the press of mischaracterising the conflict and focusing on narratives that, in his view, oversta…
Washington, March 13 (IANS) The US said Friday that its military campaign against Iran had sharply degraded Tehran’s armed forces, with more than 6,000 targets struck and Iranian naval power rendered “combat ineffective” as the conflict entered its 13th day. At a Pentagon news conference, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said American forces were intensifying operations under what officials described as Operation Epic Fury, targeting I…
Washington, March 13 (IANS) The White House pushed back against reports that the Trump administration has shifted its goals in the war with Iran, as it released a compilation of remarks by President Donald Trump and senior officials outlining what it said have been the campaign’s consistent objectives.The compilation brings together statements made over the past ten days by Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, senior Pentagon leaders, and the White House press secretar…
Washington, March 12 (IANS) More than 40 US senators have demanded answers from the Pentagon over the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran that reportedly killed at least 168 people, most of them children, during the opening phase of the Trump administration’s war against Iran.In a letter to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers said they were writing with “grave concern regarding the airstrikes on a girls’ elementary school that reportedly killed at least 168 people — mostly chil…
Washington, March 11 (IANS) US fighter aircraft are operating deep inside Iranian airspace with “relative impunity” after much of Iran’s advanced air defence network was neutralised during the first phase of Washington’s military campaign, the Pentagon said.Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters that many of Iran’s higher-end surface-to-air missile systems were no longer posing a significant threat to US aircraft as Operation Epic Fury entered its second we…
Washington, Mar 11 (IANS) US President Donald Trump warned Iran of severe military consequences if it attempted to mine the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as American forces struck and destroyed 10 suspected mine-laying boats in the vital shipping lane, escalating tensions in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.Trump issued the warning in a social media post, saying Washington was closely monitoring any possible attempt to deploy mines in the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf…
Washington, March 11 (IANS) About 140 US service members have been wounded during the first 10 days of sustained attacks linked to the American military campaign against Iran, the Pentagon said, as Senate Democrats demanded public hearings on President Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East.Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell disclosed the casualty figures in a statement on the ongoing conflict.“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 US service members have been wounded o…
Washington, March 10 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday sought to reassure Americans and allies that the ongoing military campaign against Iran would remain tightly limited, saying the operation had clearly defined objectives and would not turn into a prolonged war.Speaking alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine at the Pentagon, Hegseth stressed that President Donald Trump had set a narrowly scoped mission for ‘Operation Epic Fury’ and that the administration was det…
Washington, March 10 (IANS) The United States said Tuesday that Iranian missile and drone capabilities have been significantly degraded during the first 10 days of ‘Operation Epic Fury’, with ballistic missile attacks dropping sharply as American strikes intensify. Speaking at the Pentagon, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said the campaign was steadily dismantling Iran’s ability to strike US forces and partners across the region.“Ballistic missi…