Pete Hegseth issues battle cry to US troops in Iran as he declares ‘we didn’t start this war’ and reveals chilling nuclear plot that threatened America

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that ‘America did not start this war’ by announcing plans to build a ‘missile shield’ to protect Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“We didn’t start this war, but we’re ending it under President Trump,” Hegseth said at a news conference Monday at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

While a fourth US soldier was confirmed dead following Iran’s attack on a base in Kuwait, he warned that “war is hell and will always remain so.”

Hegseth explained that ‘Iran is building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for its nuclear blackmail ambitions.’

He promised that the United States would crush the Islamic regime. ‘We will finish this job,’ he said.

‘If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere in the world, we will hunt you down without apology or hesitation. And we will kill you,’ Hegseth warned.

Hegseth also outlined the mission’s war objective, which does not include regime change in Iran: ‘This operation is a clear, devastating and decisive mission. Eliminate the missile threat. Destroy the fleet. ‘No nuclear weapons.’

“First of all, know this, President Trump and I always have your back, against the fire, against the criticism, against the fake news, against anything we throw at you, because you are the best, strongest, deadliest fighting force the world has ever seen,” Hegseth concluded.

Hegseth explained that ‘Iran is building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for its nuclear blackmail ambitions.’

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an E-2D Hawkeye preparing to land aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to make an aborted landing on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Sunday.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an F/A-18F Super Hornet launching from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on Sunday in support of Operation Epic Fury.

Asked if the US already had boots on the ground, Hegseth said: ‘No, but we’re not going to get into the exercise of what we will and won’t do.’

‘We will go as far as we need to go,’ he said.

‘I think it’s been one of the misconceptions for a long time that this department, presidents or others, should be saying to the American people and to our enemies, by the way, ‘Here’s exactly what we’re going to do, here’s exactly how long we’re going to go,” he said.

Hegseth declined to comment on the downing of three $90 million US warplanes over Kuwait, which the US claimed was a friendly fire incident. The pilots were able to successfully exit the aircraft and survive.

On how long the war will last, Hegseth said: ‘Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks, it may increase. ‘It may move back.’

He sought to distinguish the Iran operation from the long-running US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying the war was not an effort to build democracy in Iran.

‘No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise. No politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don’t waste our time or our lives,’ the Pentagon chief said.

‘This is not Iraq. It’s not infinite,’ Hegseth said. ‘Our generation knows better and so does this president. He called the nation-building wars of the last 20 years “stupid” and he is right.’

‘With each passing day, our capabilities are getting stronger and Iran’s are getting weaker. We determine the conditions of this war from beginning to end. “Our goals are not utopian, but realistically comprehensive for our interests and the defense of our people and allies,” he added.

Following the secretary’s statements, Chief of Staff General Daniel Caine said: ‘On Friday, February 27, United States Central Command received the final departure order from President Trump through the Secretary of War. The President directed, and I quote, “Operation Epic Fury approved. No cancellations. Good luck.”‘

Caine revealed the sheer scale of America’s attacks on Iran to topple Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and cripple the country’s military.

Caine said B-2 bombers made a 37-hour non-stop journey from the continental United States and dropped bombs on underground nuclear facilities in Iran.

‘At 9.45 a.m. Tehran time, as dawn broke in the central command area of ​​operations, the sky came alive,’ he told reporters.

‘A hundred aircraft launched from land, sea, fighter jets, tankers, bombers… form a single synchronized wave,’ Caine said.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows Navy sailors preparing to load ordnance onto the F/A-18F Super Hornet aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday.

Hegseth noted at the press conference that hundreds of ballistic missiles were fired at soldiers in the region and were stopped by US forces.

The rising death toll comes after Trump told the Daily Mail in an exclusive telephone interview on Sunday that the war with Iran could continue for the next four weeks.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an E-2D Hawkeye preparing to make an aborted landing aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to take off from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury on Saturday.

Referring to the attack on the Ayatollah, the general said the daytime attack was based on ‘a triggering event carried out by Israeli defense forces provided by US Tomahawks’.

He said America had carried out a ‘massive, overwhelming offensive across all areas of the war, hitting a thousand targets in the first 24 hours’.

Caine added that cyber and space commands were deployed to ‘confuse the enemy.’

Donald Trump has warned Americans to be prepared for more bloodshed, warning that the conflict could last up to four weeks in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.

‘This has always been a four-week process. We thought it would take about four weeks. “This has always been about a four-week process, no matter how strong a country is, it’s going to be four weeks or less,” Trump said.