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Secretary Hegseth Held Another Press Conference on Operation Epic Fury. Here's What He Said.

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  March 04, 2026 8:25 AM

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held another press conference to update the nation about Operation Epic Fury, which is entering its fifth day. In a March 2 press conference, Hegseth outlined the objectives of the operation: destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons.

Yesterday, Israeli strikes hit a meeting if Iran's "Assembly of Experts," members of Iranian senior leadership. The building in which they were meeting to elect the next Supreme Leader was flattened, dealing another major blow to the already fractured Iranian regime. Yesterday, we also learned that CIA-backed Kurdish militias were poised to begin a ground campaign in Iran in the near future, with the aim of sparking an armed uprising that will take down the rest of the Iranian government.

The Department of War also identified four of the six service members who were killed in action in the early days of Operation Epic Fury. They are Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. The Department of War said all four were killed on March 1 in an "unmanned aircraft system attack." The identities of the two other service members have not been made public yet.

Last night, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper also said that Operation Epic Fury has made Iran "noticably weaker."

This includes B-2 and B-1 bombers executing uncontested strikes deep inside Iran, showing the nation's air-defense systems are greatly weakened, and that 17 of Iran's navy ships have been sunk.

Hegseth started his press conference by saying, "America is winning. Decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy."

"We are only four days into this," Hegseth said, "and the results have been incredible. Historic, really." He said the combination of U.S. and Israeli defense forces has been "sheer destruction" for the Iranian regime.

"They are toast, and they know it. Or at least soon enough, they will know it," Hegseth said.

"Starting last night and to be completed in a few days, in under a week, the two most powerful airforces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies," Hegesth said. "Uncontested airspace."

"It means we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing, and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military," Hegseth explained. "Finding and fixing their leaders and military leaders."

"Iran will be able to do nothing about it," Hegseth added. "Death and destruction from the sky all day long."

"We're playing for keeps," Hegseth said. "Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power. Not shackle it. This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they are down, which is exactly how it should be."

"More and larger waves are coming. We are just getting started. We are accelerating, not decelerating," Hegseth continued. "We will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound, and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile." 

"The enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did, not even close," Hegseth said. "We can sustain this fight easily, for as long as we need to. And as I said yesterday, we set the terms."

Hegseth said the IRGC shut off the Internet so we cannot see what's going on in the nation.

"We will avenge them," Hegseth said of the six fallen soldiers.

"Iran's senior leaders are dead. The so-called governing council that might have selected a successor, dead, missing or cowering in bunkers too terrified to even occupy the same room," Hegseth said.

Hegseth said the Iranian air force and navy have both been decimated, including sinking the prize ship, the Solemani.

"Looks like POTUS got him twice," Hegseth remarked. An American submarine also sank an Iranian warship in international waters — the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.

Hegeth said the leader of the unit that tried to assassinate President Trump has also been eliminated. "Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh."

"This is not a 'mission accomplished' situation," Hegseth continued. "This is simply a reality check."

"This is what the fake news misses: we've taken control of Iran's airspace and waterways, without boots on the ground," Hegseth said. "But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front page news. I get it: the press only wants to make the President look bad. But try for once to report the reality. The terms of this war will be set by us at every step."

"Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb. Not on our watch. Not ever," Hegseth said, before slamming previous administrations that allowed Iran to inch its way towards a nuclear bomb.

"We have from the start put the protection of our troops ahead of everything else," Hegseth said. "Thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted and vaporized."

"As President Trump told German chancellor Merz yesterday, Iran negotiated in bad faith," Hegseth said. "Stalling, scheming, and preparing to strike. And we acted decisively to defend our people, our interests, and our allies. President Trump took bold action, putting America first. The kind of bold action the American people elected him to execute."

"America fights to win, and in Operation Epic Fury, we are," Hegesth said in closing.