Connect with us

conflict

Pete Hegseth says adversaries should take Trump administration seriously

Published

3 months ago

4 minute read

MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday praised the success of U.S. airstrikes that shattered Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and said the mission was intended to eliminate the threat—not escalate a war.

Key Details:

  • Hegseth said the mission was “not, has not been about regime change,” but about neutralizing threats to U.S. national interests and defending allies like Israel.

  • The Pentagon said the strike was successful, with precision munitions hitting their intended targets and devastating key Iranian nuclear sites.

  • Hegseth urged Iran to take the opportunity to negotiate, warning that U.S. military capabilities are “nearly unlimited” and that the choice for peace lies with Tehran.

Diving Deeper:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday reinforced the Trump administration’s position that the latest U.S. military strikes on Iran were tightly focused on neutralizing nuclear threats—not overthrowing the regime in Tehran.

“This mission was not, has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said during a press briefing at the Pentagon alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. “The President authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and to defend our troops and ally Israel.”

The strikes, carried out Saturday night, followed Iran’s continued refusal to engage in meaningful diplomatic talks. After weeks of escalating tension, Israel launched a massive missile barrage that shattered Iran’s missile defense systems. That attack was soon followed by U.S. precision strikes targeting three major Iranian nuclear sites.

Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon’s battle damage assessment is still underway but said “all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike, and had the desired effect.”

Now, he said, Iran has a window of opportunity to choose peace. “I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,” Hegseth told reporters. “They understand precisely what the American position is, precisely what steps they can take to allow for peace, and we hope they do so.”

He noted the mission was intentionally limited in scope to send a specific message. “That’s the message that we’re sending. With the capabilities of the American military nearly unlimited… Iran, in that sense, has a choice,” he said. “Now is the time to come forward for peace.”

According to Hegseth, the stealth nature of the operation caught Iran completely off guard—delivering a clear message about American power and resolve under President Trump.

“The scope and scale of what occurred last night would take the breath away of almost any American if you had an opportunity to watch it in real time,” Hegseth said. “Tehran is certainly calculating the reality that planes flew from the middle of America in Missouri overnight, completely undetected over three of their most highly sensitive sites, and we were able to destroy nuclear capabilities—and our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.”

Hegseth concluded by praising the performance of U.S. forces, saying he was “proud of how this building operated, of the precision, the sensitivity and the professionalism of the troops involved.”

Related Topics:

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

More from this author
Daily Caller / 6 mins ago

FBI Deployed Nearly 300 Agents On Jan 6 As ‘Pawns In A Political War’

Energy / 5 hours ago

Here’s a list of ways the Carney government can unshackle Canada’s energy sector

Daily Caller / 13 hours ago

Trump’s Apparent About-Face On Ukraine May Not Be The Change It Seems, Experts Say

Artificial Intelligence

AI Drone ‘Swarms’ Unleashed On Ukraine Battlefields, Marking New Era Of Warfare

Published on September 2, 2025

By

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Wallace White

Artificial intelligence-powered drones are making their first appearances on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine war as warfare creeps closer to full automation.

In bombardments on Russian targets in the past year, Ukrainian drones acting in concert were able to independently determine where to strike without human input.

It’s the first battlefield use of AI “swarm” technology in a real-world environment, a senior Ukrainian official and Swarmer, the company who makes the software, told the Wall Street Journal in a Tuesday report. While drones have increasingly defined modern battlefields, swarms until now had been confined to testing rather than combat.

“You set the target and the drones do the rest,” Swarmer Chief Executive Serhii Kupriienko told the WSJ. “They work together, they adapt.”

So far, the Swarmer technology has been used hundreds of times to target Russia assets, but was first used a year ago to lay mines on the front, the Ukrainian official told the WSJ. The software has been tested with up to 25 drones at once, but is usually utilized with only three.

Kupriienko told the WSJ that he was preparing to test up to 100 drones at once with the linking software.

A common arrangement used on the battlefield includes one reconnaissance drone to scout out the target and two explosive drones delivering the payload on target, the official told the WSJ.

While Western nations such as the U.S., France and the United Kingdom are also pursuing drone swarm technology, they have not deployed swarm technology on the battlefield the way Ukraine has, according to the WSJ. Currently, autonomous weapons are not regulated by any international authority or binding agreement, but ethical concerns around the technology has led many to call for increased regulation of weapons like the Swarmer system.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Continue Reading

conflict

Trump Pentagon Reportedly Blocking Ukraine From Firing Western Missiles Deep Into Russia

Published on August 25, 2025

By

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Harold Hutchison

The Department of Defense has spent months blocking the Ukrainian military from using American and British-made missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eldridge Colby reportedly designed the procedure to review requests to carry out the long-range strikes with weapons that are either of U.S. origin or that require American intelligence or use components provided by the U.S., according to the WSJ. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly has the final say on whether Ukrainian forces can use the MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) to hit targets in Russia.

The reported blocks on missile strikes coincides with a Trump administration effort to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter.

The Biden administration allowed Ukraine to carry out strikes with ATACMS in November, weeks after President Donald Trump won the 2024 election, the New York Times reported. Trump criticized the move during a December interview with Time magazine.

“It’s crazy what’s taking place. It’s crazy,” Trump said. “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done.”

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Aug. 15 for a summit meeting during which Trump sought to secure a cease-fire in Russia’s war with Ukraine. As Trump greeted Putin, a B-2A Spirit stealth bomber and several fighters carried out a flyover of Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and major European leaders on Aug. 18 to update them on the summit.

In July, Trump reached an agreement with NATO where members of the alliance would purchase weapons, including MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missiles, and donate them to Ukraine.

Continue Reading

Trending

X