Iran’s military has launched the lowest number of missiles and drones in the past day since the start of the conflict one month ago, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a news conference on Tuesday.
“The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran. ... We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers,” he said at a Pentagon briefing alongside Gen. Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, adding that there were 200 strikes against Iran overnight on Monday into Tuesday.
The coming days in the conflict will be crucial for Iran, he said, imploring officials in Tehran to take a deal with the United States.
“Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,” Hegseth said, stating that U.S. military “firepower is only increasing.”
“We don’t want to do more militarily than we have to—but I didn’t mean it flippantly when I said in the meantime, we'll negotiate with bombs. Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realize that this new regime, this regime in charge, is in a better place if they make that deal.”
Hegseth was referring to talks that have been occurring between the Trump administration and Tehran, as detailed by President Donald Trump in social media posts. Iran has denied that any direct negotiations have occurred so far.
Earlier in the week, Trump warned Iran in a post on social media that if it doesn’t move to open the Strait of Hormuz—a key waterway that allows for the transportation of roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil—he would direct the military to strike the country’s energy infrastructure.
Commenting on the status of the talks, Hegseth said that “they are very real, they are ongoing, they are active and, I think, gaining strength.” He did not provide more details.
The closure of the strait has led to oil prices surging, subsequently causing gasoline prices to increase in the United States. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide stood at more than $4, an increase of around $1 since the conflict started.
Meanwhile, authorities in the United Arab Emirates said the Iranian military set fire to the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi ship near Dubai during a drone attack and that it had been brought under control. There was no oil leak and no injuries to the crew. Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the ship’s owner, said the vessel’s hull was damaged.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday that countries running short of jet fuel need to look after themselves by either helping secure the Strait of Hormuz or buying from the United States.
He called on those nations to “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT. You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil.”
The U.S. and Israeli militaries launched their initial salvo of strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, killing a number of Iranian officials, including the regime’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
