WASHINGTON

The US defense secretary said that Tuesday will be the "most intense" day of US strikes in its ongoing military operation against Iran, which began late last month.

"Today will be yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran. The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes. Intelligence more refined and better than ever," Pete Hegseth told a news conference alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

His remarks came amid the ongoing US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top security officials, as well as some 1,300 people so far.

"On day 10 of Operation Epic Fury, we are winning with an overwhelming and unrelenting focus on our objectives," Hegseth said.

He listed three objectives of the war: destroying Iran's missile stockpiles, missile launchers and defense industrial base, missiles, and their ability to make them; destroying their navy; and denying Iran the ability to produce nuclear weapons.

"We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated," Hegseth said without giving further information when the operation will end.

The last 24 hours have seen Iran fire "the lowest" number of missiles, he added.

Hegseth claimed that Iran fires missiles from schools and hospitals in a "deliberative” move, “literally targeting innocents."

'US struck more than 5,000 targets in first 10 days'

Caine said the US had struck more than 5,000 Iranian targets, and more than 50 Iranian naval ships were destroyed in the first 10 days of the military campaign.

"US CENTCOM continues today to hunt and strike mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities. This work will continue," he added.

Caine said he respects that Iran is fighting, "but I don't think they're more formidable than what we thought."

"We are watching what they are doing, and we are adapting faster than they are,” he said.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.

Hegseth criticized Iran’s move, saying: "Big mistake by the Iranian regime (to) start targeting its neighbors right away, exposing who they are and what they're all about, indiscriminate targeting, flailing, recklessly ... I can't say that we anticipated, necessarily, that's exactly how they would react. But we knew it was a possibility."

The secretary said he thinks Tehran’s response reflected the regime’s "desperation" and was pushing neighboring countries closer to Washington.

He said Arab Gulf states have “decided to come to us, and been willing to go on the offense and have been giving us access-basing and overflight in a new partnership that will continue to remake the region, the way that President Trump did with the Abraham Accords," referencing US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations between Israel and Muslim-majority countries.

Turning to the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth echoed President Donald Trump, who said Monday that Iran will be hit 20 times harder if Iran does anything to stop the flow of oil.

Caine said the US will look at "a range of options" if it is tasked with escorting ships through the strait.

"If tasked to escort, you know, we'll look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that," he added.

Trump on Monday pledged that the strait is going to remain "safe," adding: "We're putting up risk insurance. We'll perhaps go alongside of them for protection."

'We see things very, very seriously and investigate them thoroughly'

Asked what steps the Pentagon is taking to limit civilian casualties in Iran, Hegseth said no nation takes more precautions than the US to ensure civilians are never targeted.

On a strike on a girls school in Iran that reportedly killed at least 175 people, most of them children, during US-Israeli airstrikes, Hegseth said when incidents happen, the US investigates.

"Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen. We see things very, very seriously and investigate them thoroughly, which takes time," Hegseth said, accusing Iran of targeting civilians "indiscriminately."

Asked what role the US will play in the aftermath of strikes on Iran, or whether it will leave Iran to sort things out, Hegseth said: "Ultimately, the aftermath is going to be in America's interests – our interests.

"We won't live under a nuclear blackmail scenario of conventional missiles that can target our people, which is why the objectives have been scoped from the beginning: missiles, missile production, defense industrial base, navy. All in service of ensuring they don't have nuclear power projection capabilities."

Hegseth declined to comment on a media report that claimed Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, had been injured.

“He would be wise to heed the words of our president, which is not to pursue nuclear weapons and come out and state as such.

“As far as his status, that’s not something I can comment on right now," he added.