On the fifth day of the joint U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the accomplishment of several key objectives, including that “the leader of the unit” responsible for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in November 2024 “has been hunted down and killed.”

Hegseth, speaking alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine, also touted the naval and air superiority achieved by the U.S. and Israel over Iran.

“The Iranian Air Force is no more … their navy is not a factor,” Hegseth said. “In fact, last night, we sunk their prize ship, the Soleimani, and … yesterday in the Indian Ocean an American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.” 

Caine noted that the U.S. has sunk more than 20 Iranian warships.

Still, Hegseth said, the operation is only in its early days.“We are accelerating, not decelerating,” he claimed, noting that “more bombers and more fighters are arriving today.” 

“Starting last night and to be completed in a few days, in under a week, the two most powerful air forces in the world [the U.S. and Israel] will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace. Flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital, flying over the IRGC Iranian leaders, looking up and seeing only us and Israeli air power every minute of every day, until we decide it’s over. Iran will be able to do nothing about it.”

“Iran’s senior leaders are dead, the so-called governing council that might have selected a successor are dead, missing or cowering in bunkers too terrified to even occupy the same room, senior generals, mid- level, officers, enlisted ranks, they can’t talk or communicate, let alone mount a coordinated and sustained offensive,” Hegseth added.

Hegseth said the current campaign has wrought “seven times the intensity” than that of the 12-day war in June 2025, noting that the U.S. is “just getting started” and “more and larger waves are coming.” 

Hegseth did not comment on whether the U.S. would deploy ground troops, but said that the department is working to move existing personnel around the region out of harm’s way.

“We have, from the start, put the protection of our troops ahead of everything else before we very publicly built up offensive combat power,” Hegseth said. “We moved the vast majority of American troops, over 90% of Americans that were on our bases, out of the range of Iranian fire.”

Hegseth credited Israel for its role in the operation, telling reporters that working with “such a capable ally” is a “force multiplier and breath of fresh air.” In addition to working with Israel, Hegseth said the U.S. is also closely coordinating with Arab partners.

“Whether it’s UAE or Qatar or Bahrain or Kuwait or Saudi on different levels, they’re reaching out to us … they’re giving us additional access basing and overflight … we’re working very closely and collaborating with them also on air defenses,” Hegseth said.

“The air defense capabilities of those countries are significant, and when combined with ours and we coordinate it, it brings simplicity to the shot doctrine,” he added. 

Caine laid out the U.S.’ strategy moving forward: “CENTCOM is now shifting from large, deliberate strike packages using standoff munitions … into stand-in precision strikes overhead Iran,” he said. “This will allow the joint force to deliver significantly increased precision effects on the target.”

Caine said that Iran has been “indiscriminate” in its attacks, firing “more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2000 drones striking innocent civilian targets throughout the region.” 

Responding to concerns over whether the U.S. will be able to maintain enough munitions throughout the conflict, Hegseth dismissed “stories and speculation,” instead asserting: “Iran cannot outlast us.”

“We’re going to ensure through violence of action and our offensive capabilities and our defensive capabilities that we set the tone and the tempo of this fight,” Hegseth said. “The only limits we have in this is President Trump’s desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people … You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three. Ultimately, we set the pace.”