US has no end date for Iran war, strikes ‘very much on track’: Hegseth

2026.03.19 16:20 US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday. Photo: AFP US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday there was no “time frame” for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran, which was launched three weeks ago. “We wouldn’t want to set a definitive time frame,” Hegseth told a news conference, adding that “we’re very much on track” and that President Donald Trump would be the one to decide when to stop. “It will be at the president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to.’” American objectives in the war had not changed since strikes started on February 28, he said. The US has carried out strikes against 7,000 targets inside Iran, and hit more than 40 Iranian minelaying vessels and 11 submarines. A volunteer salvages belongings from a house damaged in a strike in Tehran on Wednesday. Photo: WANA/Reuters “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.” These were to destroy Iran’s missile launchers, as well as its defence industrial base and navy, and to never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon, he said. The Trump administration is considering deploying thousands of US troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran. Hegseth also addressed a report that the Pentagon has requested more than US$200 billion in additional funding from Congress to pay for the conflict. Motorists drive past a billboard of Iran’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on Saturday. Photo: AFP “As far as US$200 billion, I think that number could move. Obviously it takes money to kill bad guys,” he said. “We’re going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we’re properly

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