'We will hunt you down without apology': Pentagon justifies Iran strikes, signals no retreat in military campaign

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth addressing a press briefing.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended Washington’s military campaign against Iran, describing the operation as an unprecedented show of American military power carried out under the direct orders of President Donald Trump.

Addressing a press briefing amid the escalating military conflict with Iran, Hegseth said the strikes represented a historic military action. “The operation on Iran, under direct orders of Donald Trump, is the most lethal, most complex and most precise aerial operation in history,” he said.

“We didn't start the war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,” he added.

Hegseth argued that Washington’s actions came after decades of tensions with Tehran. He said Trump had drawn a red line "after 47 years of Iranian belligerence."

He also warned that the United States would respond decisively to any threats against Americans. Anyone who kills or threatens Americans will be hunted down by the United States “without apology and without hesitation,” he said.

The defense secretary insisted that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was a central objective of the campaign. He said it was “common sense” that regimes such as Iran must not possess nuclear weapons and argued that Trump had the “guts” needed to enforce that position.

Hegseth also repeated the administration’s claim that Iran posed a growing security threat to the United States and its allies.

“Iran was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail exhibitions,” he said.

According to Hegseth, US forces are carrying out strikes with precision and overwhelming force. American forces are hitting Iran “surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” he said.

He said the war against Iran is not an effort to build democracy in the Islamic Republic. "No stupid rules of engagement, no nation building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise. No politically correct wars. We fight to win and we don't waste time or lives."

During the briefing, Hegseth also criticised media coverage of the operation. Addressing criticism that the campaign could lead to another prolonged conflict, he said, “To the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars,’ stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless.”

His remarks come as the United States and Israel continue military operations targeting Iranian facilities, with Washington maintaining that the campaign is necessary to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and threatening American interests.