US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that the US's goals in the war against Iran have not changed since the start of the strikes against the Islamic Republic on February 28, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
According to the Pentagon, the US has so far struck 7,000 targets in Iran and has hit more than 40 Iranian minelaying vessels and 11 submarines.
“Our goals, set directly by our president (Donald Trump), who puts America first, remain exactly the same as they have been since day one“, Hegseth told reporters. “These are not the media's goals, these are not Iran's goals, these are not new goals. Our goals – unchanged, in the right direction and on schedule“.
He used a few minutes of his opening statement to criticize the media, Reuters notes. Hegseth stressed that the goals remain to destroy Iran's missile sites, as well as the country's defense industrial base and naval forces, and to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
At the same briefing, General Dan Kaine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US armed forces are on track to achieve their goals by striking deeper into Iranian territory with each passing day.
The Pentagon is requesting an additional $200 billion for the war with Iran, a senior official in the administration of US President Donald Trump said, quoted by the Associated Press, writes BTA.
He said the War Department had sent the request to the White House. This is an extremely large amount and is in addition to the additional funding that the Pentagon already received last year as part of Trump's big tax cut bill, notes the AP. Congress is preparing a new spending request, but it is unclear whether the White House has submitted the request for consideration. It is unclear whether the request will receive support.
The new funding request was first reported by the "Washington Post". Asked about the amount at a press conference today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the number, saying it could change. But he said: "We will go back to Congress and our people there to make sure we have the funding."
"It takes money to kill the bad guys," Hegseth said.
Iran still has some stockpiles of missiles, said the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kaine, at a joint news conference with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Reuters reported.
The statement came on the 20th day of the war in the Middle East. "They went into this war with a pretty large stockpile of weapons," the general told reporters.
At the same press conference, Kane said that the US military remains focused on achieving its objectives and that the US is striking deeper into Iranian territory with each passing day.
The general added that the US is also striking Iran-linked militias in Iraq. "AH-64 "Apache" helicopters are striking Iran-linked militias to ensure that we neutralize any threats in Iraq against US troops and interests," Kane said.