Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has amped up how long American soldiers could be embroiled in the deadly war with Iran, despite Donald Trump claiming it was “very complete.”
After days of shifting rhetoric by the president, Hegseth addressed reporters on Tuesday morning to provide an update on the Middle East conflict, only to add to the confusion about the endgame.
“Our will is endless,” the defense secretary told reporters, before adding in the same breath: “But what I want the American people to understand is this is not endless.”
“It’s not protracted. We’re not allowing mission creep. The president has set a very specific mission to accomplish, and our job is to unrelentingly deliver that,” he told reporters.
“Now he gets to control the throttle. He’s the one deciding. He’s the one elected on behalf of the American people when we’re achieving those particular objectives. And so it’s not for me to posit whether it’s the beginning, the middle, or the end.”
The comments come after Hegseth told 60 Minutes on Sunday that the U.S. was just “getting started,” only for Trump to come out on Monday to declare that the conflict could end “very soon” as soaring oil prices resulted in members of his administration hitting the panic button over the political fallout.
Then, on Monday evening, a few hours later, Trump made a furious Truth Social post that threatened even more aggressive action if Iranian leaders continue to choke off oil tanker traffic.
Iranian officials responded by insisting they had no intention of ending the conflict, with Iran’s speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, saying in a social media post: “We are definitely not looking for a ceasefire.”
“We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” he wrote.
As confusion ensued, and with eight U.S. soldiers now dead, Hegseth said on Tuesday that this would be the fiercest day of attacks so far.
“We’re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force. We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated. But we do so on our timeline,” the former Fox presenter said.
The mixed messaging has added to uncertainty in Washington over whether the administration is preparing for a prolonged campaign or seeking a near-term off-ramp.
Behind the scenes, some of Trump’s advisers are urging him to articulate a clearer exit strategy for the war, concerned about the political and economic fallout if the conflict drags on.
Officials close to the president have argued that the U.S. could claim its main objectives—crippling Iran’s military infrastructure and limiting its nuclear capabilities—have largely been achieved.
The conflict is also rippling through global energy markets. Disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, have pushed crude prices higher and driven gasoline prices upward in the United States, adding pressure to inflation and consumer costs.
According to price-tracking service GasBuddy, the average price of U.S. retail gasoline nationwide had hit $3.49 a gallon by Monday afternoon. The average price per gallon had also jumped by over 50 cents since the war with Iran began.
Hegseth’s latest briefing also comes as the administration faces uncomfortable political and humanitarian questions over a strike on a girls’ school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, killing more than 160 people.
Video analysis and satellite imagery suggest the blast was likely caused by an American Tomahawk missile targeting a nearby Revolutionary Guard facility.
Trump, however, has offered shifting explanations about the strike. After initially suggesting Iran was responsible, he later said he did not “know enough” about the incident and indicated he would accept the findings of a military investigation into who carried out the attack.
Hegseth managed to avoid being grilled about the matter on Tuesday, but told reporters that only Iran targeted civilians.
“We do not and I can tell you this, this administration and this Pentagon focuses on that very, very closely,” he said.
