Hegseth: Iran Is in for 'Most Intense Day'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says Tuesday's action against Iran will mark the heaviest US aerial assault since the conflict began 10 days ago. Speaking at the Pentagon alongside Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth said Iran "stands alone" and is "badly losing," claiming Tehran has launched its fewest missiles yet in the past 24 hours, per CNBC. Caine said Iranian ballistic missile attacks were "down 90% from when we started," per the Guardian. Hegseth vowed the US would send "the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes" into Iran so that Tuesday will be "yet again, our most intense day of strikes."

His comments tracked with President Trump's Monday prediction that the war will end "very soon" as Iranian military assets are rapidly destroyed. Trump also warned Tehran it would be hit "TWENTY TIMES HARDER" if it disrupts the transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. As Hegseth spoke, authorities in Abu Dhabi confirmed that a drone attack by Iran had ignited a fire at the oil refinery in the Ruwais Industrial Complex. No injuries were immediately reported. Hegseth said Trump "gets to control the throttle" of the war "so it's not for me to posit whether it's the beginning, the middle, or the end."