WASHINGTON: The next few days in the Middle East conflict will be decisive, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a briefing on Tuesday, saying there had been major desertions from the Iranian armed forces.
“We have more and more options, and they have less ... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive,” Hegseth said. “Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it.”
Hegseth, citing intelligence, said the strikes were damaging the morale of the Iranian military. This, he said, was triggering widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and causing frustration among senior leaders.
Hegseth also said he had visited troops in the Middle East on Saturday to witness the military operation against Iran.
“We were on the ground in CENTCOM on Saturday for about half the day. For reasons of operational security, so those troops are not targeted, the places and bases will not be named,” Hegseth said, referring to the US command responsible for the region.
