Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine briefed reporters at the Pentagon Friday on the latest developments in the war with Iran, a day after a U.S. military refueling tanker crashed in western Iraq.
At least four U.S. service members were killed the crash in Iraq, according to the U.S. military, which said rescue efforts were still underway for two other crew members. Hegseth said of the crash that “bad things happen,” and he praised the crew as heroes.
Caine said the crash occurred over friendly territory while the crew was on a combat mission. He said it was not due to hostile or friendly fire, and he confirmed that the rescue operation is continuing.
Iran’s missile volume is down 90%, Hegseth told reporters during the briefing. All of Iran’s defense companies will be destroyed — all have been “functionally defeated,” Hegseth told reporters Friday.
Central Command said Thursday the military had struck about 6,000 targets inside Iran since the war began on Feb. 28, and President Trump said on the same day that the “situation with Iran is moving along very rapidly.”
But Iran’s assaults have continued, and oil prices have risen to over $100 a barrel while stock prices are sliding, even in the face of the president’s assertions that he’ll end the war soon and announcements of major oil reserve releases.
Ship traffic remains largely stopped in the Strait of Hormuz, though Bessent has said the U.S. Navy could escort oil tankers through the Strait.
U.S. forces are “continuing to destroy the Iranian navy,” Caine said, “and this means going after Iran’s mining capability and destroying their ability to go after commercial vessels,” There are some mine operations, Caine said, and CENTCOM continues to attack the Iranian efforts, Caine said.
“That’s not a strait we’re going to allow to remain contested,” Hegseth said.
Asked whether Iran is placing new mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said “We have no clear evidence of that.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Thursday that the U.S. would temporarily loosen sanctions against Russia, to allow the Kremlin to sell Russian oil that’s already at sea. It’s an effort to loosen the wartime sanctions that restrict Russia’s oil industry as the world grapples with high oil prices.
Asked about whether Iran’s nuclear program and whether U.S. military would need to take control of the enriched uranium in Iran’s possession in order to conclude its military operation, Hegseth only said that the U.S. retains options to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. “We have options, for sure,” he said.
Hegseth was also asked about the military investigation into the bombing of an elementary school in Iran and reports that a preliminary probe suggested that the U.S. was responsible for the strike. Hegseth said CENTCOM has designated an investigating officer from outside CENTCOM to carry out a command investigation of the incident, but declined to give a timeframe for the investigation.
So far, the administration has said little about Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was said by an Iranian official to have been injured in the attack, but is “alive and well,” though he has not been seen since the war began. Iranian state media released a statement attributed to him on Thursday that said Iran should keep leveraging its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to continue attacks on targets in Gulf Arab nations.
Hegseth said Friday of Khamenei, “We know the new not-so-Supreme Leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” noting that the statement released by Iran was written and included no image of him.
