Pete Hegseth Just Told Reporters This Brutal Truth About Iran’s Military and Backed It Up With the Numbers

Iran's navy is sitting on the ocean floor.

Now Pete Hegseth walked into the Pentagon and told the world exactly what that means.

What he said next is something the mullahs never wanted the world to hear.

Operation Epic Fury Is Over — Here Is What the Pentagon Says It Destroyed

Wednesday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stepped to the podium and delivered the verdict on 38 days of Operation Epic Fury.

"Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it," Hegseth told reporters.

He called the operation "a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield – a capital V military victory."

The numbers back him up.

Over 120 Iranian naval vessels destroyed or incapacitated. Ballistic missile attacks reduced by 90% from day one. Drone attacks down 83%. Missile production factories razed to the ground.

"America's military achieved every single objective on plan, on schedule, exactly as laid out from day one," Hegseth said.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed it: over 38 days of combat, the Joint Force hit every military target the president defined – Iran's missile stockpiles, its launchers, its defense industrial base, and its navy.

"By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran's military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come," Hegseth said.

Caine also honored the 13 American service members killed during the operation. "Their names and their bravery will never be forgotten," he said.

Iran Ceasefire Terms: Strait of Hormuz Reopens

The ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan just hours before Trump's Tuesday night deadline, came with a condition: Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz – the waterway carrying roughly 20% of the world's daily oil supply.

Tehran agreed. Iran's foreign minister said safe passage is now possible, with vessels coordinating transit through Iran's armed forces.

Hegseth was direct about why Iran came to the table.

"President Trump had the power to cripple Iran's entire economy in minutes, but he chose mercy," he said. Strike packages targeting Iran's power plants, bridges, and oil infrastructure had been prepared and ready to execute.

"He ultimately said, 'We can take it all from you,'" Hegseth explained. "That type of threat is what brought them to the place where they effectively say, 'Okay, we wanna cut this deal.'"

Global markets reacted immediately. Tokyo's Nikkei surged more than 5%. South Korea's Kospi jumped nearly 7%. Frankfurt opened up 5%. Oil prices plunged 16%.

Trump called it on Truth Social: "A big day for world peace. Iran wants it to happen. They've had enough."

But another party to the dispute decided to throw a wrench into the works immediately.

https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2041923639428239797“>https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2041923639428239797

Bibi had to know his actions would complicate a fragile peace but it’s clear he doesn’t care about peace only his own objectives.

This isn’t about the Biblical Promised Land(s).

If you think so, read the Old Testament yourself and try to draw a distinction between the land promises that stipulate they are forever and those that don’t.

What Comes Next – And Why the Clock Is Ticking

The ceasefire buys two weeks for negotiations. Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Vice President JD Vance are headed to Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks starting Friday.

Trump posted Wednesday that the final deal will include zero uranium enrichment for Iran – and that the U.S. will work with Tehran to remove all highly enriched uranium currently buried inside the country.

"There will be no Iranian nuclear weapons. Period, full stop," Hegseth said.

Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is a "non-negotiable" issue, Hegseth added. The Pentagon is monitoring exactly what Iran has. If the mullahs won't hand it over voluntarily, Hegseth made clear the military reserves the right to deal with it directly – as Operation Midnight Hammer did to Iran's nuclear facilities last June.

U.S. forces aren't going anywhere in the meantime. "We'll be hanging around. We're not going anywhere," Hegseth told reporters, adding that troops remain ready to "restart at a moment's notice."

Their sacrifice brought something real: a regime that begged for a ceasefire, a strait that's open again – or was briefly – and a Pentagon secretary standing at a podium telling the world the mullahs are out of missiles, out of ships, and out of options.

"We control their fate," Hegseth said, "not the other way around."

Negotiations start Friday. Trump set the terms. Iran is at the table.

The only question left is whether America will let our supposed biggest allie undermine our interest yet again.

Something to think about next time you fill up at the gas station.

Sources:

• Vaughn Cokayne and John T. Seward, "Pete Hegseth, Defense Chief: US Forces Prepared to Restart Strikes," The Washington Times, April 8, 2026.
• "Secretary Hegseth Declares 'Military Victory' Following Ceasefire Deal with Iran," Fox Affiliate Network, April 8, 2026.
• "Hegseth: US to 'Stay Ready' After Iran Ceasefire, Claims Victory," WCHSTV/TNND, April 8, 2026.
• "Operation Epic Fury Destroys Iran's Navy and Cuts Missile Attacks by 90%," Fox News, March 6, 2026.
• "Operation Epic Fury: Decisive American Power to Crush Iran's Terror Regime," WhiteHouse.gov, March 2026.
• "Trump-Iran Agree to Two-Week Ceasefire, Plan to Open Strait of Hormuz," CNBC, April 7, 2026.