1. Home
2. Middle East
3. Hegseth Hails Iran Victory as U.S. Military Presence Continues

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that American forces have achieved a “historic and overwhelming victory” against Iran, while stressing that U.S. troops will remain deployed in the region to ensure compliance with a tentative peace agreement.

Speaking at a Pentagon press conference, Hegseth underscored that despite President Donald Trump’s announcement of a two-week pause in hostilities to allow for negotiations, American forces would maintain full operational readiness. He emphasized that troops are prepared to defend, resume offensive operations, and respond immediately if required.

Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social that both sides had already agreed to use a preliminary 10-point peace plan as a “working framework” for expected talks. Later, Pakistani Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif claimed that Iranian and American delegations would visit Pakistan for talks on Friday, though it is unclear who will be in attendance.

Hegseth expressed confidence that the agreement would hold, citing the scale and effectiveness of the U.S. military campaign over the past six weeks. He said U.S. forces, using less than 10 percent of total combat power, had dismantled one of the world’s largest militaries and what he described as the leading state-sponsor of terrorism.

Vice President JD Vance struck a more cautious tone, describing the situation as a “fragile truce” that could collapse in the coming days. Vance is currently in Hungary, campaigning alongside Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine reported that U.S. forces have struck more than 13,000 targets since the operation began on Feb. 28. These include approximately 80 percent of Iran’s air defense systems, over 1,500 air defense sites, more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities, and 800 one-way attack drones. The targets also included more than 700 strikes on naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which Caine said account for roughly 95 percent of Iran’s stockpiles.

The defense secretary dismissed reports of overnight attacks by Iranian proxy groups, saying they did not constitute a breach of the peace agreement. However, he cautioned that Iran should find a way to relay orders even to its most remote units—remarking that U.S. forces remain fully prepared to respond if necessary.

On April 8, the U.S. embassy in Iraq reported that Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran conducted multiple drone attacks in the vicinity of the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center and Baghdad International Airport.