Hegseth warns: US bombing against Iran will increase significantly

2026-03-10 15:14:20, Kosova & Bota CNA

US strikes against Iran will reach a new intensity on Tuesday and President Donald Trump will decide how long this war will continue, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.

"Today will be our most intense day of strikes inside Iran yet," Hegseth said at a Pentagon press conference.

The US and Israel began bombing the Islamic republic on February 28.

Hegseth added that, in terms of the duration of the war, Trump is the one who "controls the pace."

"He's the one who decides," Hegseth said.

"It's not my job to say whether this is the beginning, the middle or the end," the Defense Secretary added.

Among the goals of the war is the destruction of Iran's navy, which has been hit with "artillery, fighter jets, bombers and sea-launched missiles," said General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, at the same conference as Hegseth.

Iran has vowed to block all oil exports through the Gulf for as long as the war lasts, while Trump has threatened "death, fire and fury" if Tehran interferes with oil exports.

Caine said that US forces continue to "search for and strike ships that lay mines and mine storage facilities," as these are weapons that Iran could use to block maritime traffic.

Meanwhile, Hegseth accused Iran of "placing rocket launchers in civilian neighborhoods, near schools and near hospitals to deter our attacks. That's what they do."

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Iran of attempting to "hold the world hostage" by launching retaliatory attacks across the Middle East and said that US military operations aimed at limiting Tehran's capabilities are progressing according to plan.

As an example of Tehran's attacks on neighboring countries, NATO said it had shot down a ballistic missile in Turkish airspace for the second time since the United States and Israel began their war on Iran.

"NATO has again shot down a missile launched from Turkey. NATO is determined to defend allies against any threat," the alliance said in a social media post on March 9, without providing further details.

The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed the incident, adding that several fragments of ammunition fell on empty land in Gaziantep, a city in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. There were no reports of casualties. /REL