US objectives in Iran have not changed, Hegseth says (updated)

US Foods Holding

19/03/2026 12:38

*    Hegseth says objectives 'unchanged, on target and on
plan'     

        *    Defense secretary says US controls Iran's fate      

        *    Comments follow escalation of energy infrastructure
attacks     

  
 (Adds details in paragraph 9,10,13,14)
    By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
       WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. objectives in
its war against Iran have not changed since strikes started on
February 28, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on
Thursday, and he accused the media of stirring up concerns that
the U.S. risked being locked in an open-ended conflict with
shifting priorities.
    The U.S. has carried out strikes against 7,000 targets
inside Iran, and hit more than 40 Iranian mine-laying vessels
and 11 submarines.
    "Our objectives, given directly from our America-first
president, remain exactly what they were on day one," Hegseth
told reporters. 
    "These are not the media's objectives, not Iran's
objectives, not new objectives. Our objectives - unchanged, on
target and on plan," Hegseth added.
    He spent several minutes in his opening statement
criticizing the press, accusing it of trying to convince the
American public that it was "spinning toward an endless abyss,
or a forever war, or a quagmire."
    "Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.
     
    U.S. AIMS TO DESTROY IRAN MISSILE LAUNCHERS, DEFENSE
INDUSTRY
    Hegseth told reporters the objectives remained to destroy
Iran's missile launchers, its defense industrial base and its
navy, and to never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
    Reuters reported on Wednesday that sources said President
Donald Trump's administration is considering deploying thousands
of additional U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the
Middle East.
    Options ‌for next steps include securing safe passage for
oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that the
sources said would be accomplished primarily through air and
naval forces. Securing the strait could also mean deploying U.S.
troops to Iran's shoreline, sources told Reuters.
    Trump, asked on Thursday whether he intended to put more
troops in the region, told reporters he was not putting troops
"anywhere," but that if he was going to, he would not tell
journalists.
    Earlier, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said the U.S. military remained on track to achieve its
objectives and the U.S. was striking deeper into Iranian
territory every day. 
    But Caine acknowledged that Iran retained some missile
capabilities.
    "They came into this fight with a lot of weapons," Caine
said.
    That became evident when the U.S. military said in a
statement that a U.S. F-35 aircraft conducted an emergency
landing after flying a combat mission over Iran. The military
said the pilot was in stable condition. 
    A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity,
said it appeared the aircraft had been hit by Iran, but an
investigation was underway.
  
    Some 13 U.S. troops have been killed so far in the war and
about 200 have been wounded, the U.S. military said, adding that
most of the injuries have been minor.
     
    HEGSETH SAYS U.S. CONTROLS IRAN'S FATE
    Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure in response to
Israeli attacks on its gas facilities marked the biggest
escalation of the nearly three-week war, causing gasoline prices
to surge and oil prices to rise further on Thursday. 
    Reuters has reported that one of the locations where the
Trump administration discussed sending ground forces was Kharg
Island, the hub for 90% of Iran's oil exports, where the U.S.
carried out strikes on Friday, saying it had only hit military
targets. 
    Hegseth, in the press conference, cited the strikes against
Kharg Island as an example of how the U.S. could control Iran's
fate, warning Iran against targeting Arab countries.
    "The United States military controls the fate of that
country," he said.     
    Kharg ⁠sits 16 miles (26 km) from Iran's coast, about 300
miles (483 km) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz, in waters deep
enough to enable the docking of tankers that are too large to
approach the mainland's shallow coastal waters.
     
    "TAKES MONEY TO KILL BAD GUYS"
    In a sign that the war could continue for some time, a U.S.
official told Reuters the Pentagon had asked the White House to
approve a more than $200 billion request to Congress to fund the
war in Iran.
    "Obviously, it takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth said,
without confirming the number.
    "So we're going back to Congress and our folks there to
ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what
we may have to do in the future," Hegseth said.
    The first six days of the war cost the U.S. at least $11.3
billion. That figure, from a closed-door briefing for senators,
​did not include the entire cost of the war, but was provided to
​lawmakers as they have clamored for more information about the
conflict.

 (Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Steve Holland,
Katharine Jackson, Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Andrew Heavens,
Aidan Lewis, Rod Nickel and David Gregorio)
 ((mailto:Idrees.Ali@thomsonreuters.com;))