Hegseth Extends Iran War Deployments Into 2027

Trump was effusive about his defense secretary, who has been under fire in recent weeks over the departure of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. "You did a good job in Iran last night, by the way. You knocked the hell out of them," Trump said in the Rose Garden. "We're winning that one very big by the way, in case you didn't notice. We have to say it because the press hates to say it."

Of Iran's military, Trump said: "They don't have any aircraft, anything having to do with aircraft or ships. They're all at the bottom of the sea or at the bottom of a runway."

On social media, Trump rejected an ABC News report that he was trying to push Tehran back to talks. "I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement," he wrote. "I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable." He also asked, "When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"

Asked about a fresh Iranian attempt to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump told reporters Wednesday the US remains ready to strike again: "We see everything that they're doing. They can't go to the bathroom without us seeing it."

Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned that the pace of operations could exhaust personnel, delay maintenance and cut into longer-term modernization, according to the Journal.