Secretary of War Pete Hegseth isn’t putting any limits on what America is willing to do to defeat Iran’s regime — and that includes sending in ground troops.
In a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday night, Hegseth told CBS News that President Donald Trump is leaving every option open as Operation Epic Fury continues to pound Iranian military targets.
“We’re willing to go as far as we need in order to be successful,” Hegseth said. “We reserve the right. We would be completely unwise if we did not reserve the right to take any particular option, whether it included boots on the ground or not boots on the ground.”
When asked if American forces were already on the ground inside Iran, Hegseth was deliberately vague — and unapologetic about it. He said it was “foolishness” to expect the U.S. military to spell out its limits to the enemy.
President Trump echoed that position last week, confirming that ground troops could be deployed… if necessary.
Hegseth said Trump has no interest in repeating the mistakes of previous wars in the Middle East. He drew a sharp contrast between Operation Epic Fury and the prolonged nation-building missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It’s not a regime-change war in a conventional George W. Bush context of hundreds of thousands of troops,” Hegseth said. “This is not a remaking of the Iranian society from an American perspective. We tried that. The American people have rejected that. President Trump called those wars dumb. And we’re not fighting that way.”
Trump said in a Sunday interview that the conflict could last four to five weeks. Hegseth declined to confirm a timeline but said the administration is staying the task.
“We’re very much on track, on plan,” he said. “We’re not flying a mission accomplished banner like George W. Bush on an aircraft carrier. We’re not doing that and we haven’t done that. But we can be clear with the American people that this is not a fair fight.”