Trump to decide how long to wage Iran war, Hegseth says

Published 02 Mar, 2026 07:15pm 1 min read
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. – Reuters
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. – Reuters

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to give a timeline for the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran, saying it was up to Trump to decide the length of the military campaign.

“As far as time frame, I would never hang a time frame,” he said during a press conference at the Pentagon.

“This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” he added.

Pressed on the issue, he said: “President Trump has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take, four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up. It could move back.”

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the United States was not ruling out any options in its war with Iran, adding: “We fight to win.”

The U.S. mission in Iran was to destroy Iran’s missiles and navy and to deny Tehran nuclear weapons.

“This is not a so-called ‘regime change’ war, but the regime sure did change,” U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding: “And the world is better off for it.”

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