US Had Targets Locked for Iran Strike if Deadline Passed, Says Hegseth; Claims Operation Epic Fury Left Iran ‘Combat Ineffective’

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday that American forces had targets “locked and loaded” against Iran and were fully prepared to strike had a diplomatic deadline been crossed, asserting that Washington’s show of military force was what ultimately drove Tehran to accept a ceasefire deal.

Addressing reporters at a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth cast the standoff as a clear American victory, arguing that sustained military pressure including direct threats to Iran’s energy exports had compelled the country to the negotiating table. “This threat brought Iran to the table,” he said, maintaining that US actions had directly shaped the outcome of the talks.

Hegseth also outlined what he described as the ceasefire’s key provisions, announced on Tuesday, including that any nuclear material Iran “should not have” would be removed. Iranian officials, however, have made no public acknowledgement of any such terms in their own statements.

President Donald Trump reinforced that position in a Truth Social post, saying the US would work with Iran to “dig up and remove” uranium stockpiles that had been targeted during recent American air strikes. Hegseth echoed that line at the briefing: “The president has been clear from the beginning, there will be no Iranian nuclear weapons, period, full stop. Other presidents said it, President Trump did it.”

Also Read:

The defence secretary also described the US military campaign named Operation Epic Fury as a “historic and overwhelming victory,” claiming it had severely degraded Iran’s fighting capacity. “By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come,” he said.

That assessment, however, sits in tension with current US intelligence findings. Reports indicate that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers remain operational, with thousands of one-way attack drones still in its possession.

Hegseth acknowledged this but sought to minimise the threat. “What little they have left, buried in bunkers, is all they will have,” he said. “They can still shoot, we know that. Their command and control is so decimated they cannot really talk and coordinate, so they still may shoot here and there but that would be very, very unwise,” he added.