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“The Two Most Powerful Air Forces in the World Will Have Complete Control of Iranian Skies… Iran Will Be Able to Do Nothing About It,” Pete Hegseth Vows — “Death and Destruction from the Sky All Day Long”

  • Rob Glenn
  • March 4, 2026
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United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that U.S. and Israeli forces are rapidly expanding their control over Iranian airspace as part of the ongoing military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury, describing the opening phase of the conflict as a decisive and intensifying offensive ordered by President Donald Trump. Speaking from the Pentagon four days after the operation began, Hegseth said the combined power of the United States and Israel is dismantling Iranian military capabilities and moving toward total air dominance over the country.

“Well, good morning. I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth said. “America is winning decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy.” Hegseth stressed that the campaign is only beginning, while arguing that the pace and scale of the attacks already represent a historic level of military force. “It’s very early, and as President Trump has said, we will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”

A central component of the operation is the rapid establishment of uncontested airspace across Iran by the combined air forces of the United States and Israel. He described the coming days as the moment when the balance of the conflict shifts decisively in the air.

“Starting last night and to be completed in a few days, in under a week, the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies. Uncontested airspace,” Hegseth said. He explained that such control would allow continuous aerial operations targeting Iranian military infrastructure, leadership networks, and weapons production facilities.

“It means we will fly, all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing, and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military,” Hegseth said. “Finding and fixing their leaders and their military leaders flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital, flying over the IRGC, Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli air power every minute of every day until we decide it’s over.”

“And Iran will be able to do nothing about it,” he added.

Hegseth described the air campaign as relying on a wide array of American aircraft and unmanned systems, including strategic bombers and drones. “B-2s, B-52s, B-1s, Predator drones, fighters controlling the skies, picking targets,” he said. “Death and destruction from the sky all day long.”

The Pentagon chief said the rules of engagement were intentionally designed to allow American forces to employ maximum combat power. He argued that the campaign was not intended to be balanced or symmetrical.

“This was never meant to be a fair fight. And it is not a fair fight,” Hegseth said. “We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be.”

He also compared the scale of the opening strikes to previous U.S. operations in the Middle East, claiming that the campaign has already surpassed the intensity of the early stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“Thus far, Operation Epic Fury has delivered twice the air power of shock and awe of Iraq in 2003,” he said. “And the campaign has seven times the intensity of Israel’s previous operations against Iran during the 12-day war.” Hegseth said the United States initially relied on more advanced long-range standoff weapons but is now shifting to sustained bombing operations using large stockpiles of conventional precision munitions.

“With complete control of the skies, we will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile,” he said.

At the same time, he said Iranian missile capabilities are already degrading under sustained attacks. “The enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did,” Hegseth said. “Not even close.”

“The Iranian Air Force is no more — built for 1996, destroyed in 2026,” he said.

He added that Iranian naval power has been largely eliminated, claiming that U.S. and allied forces destroyed the country’s fleet in the Persian Gulf. “The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,” Hegseth said. “Combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated.”

“Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb. Not on our watch. Not ever.”

He also credited Israel’s military for its role in the operation, describing the partnership between U.S. and Israeli forces as a major strategic advantage.

“To our steadfast partner, Israel, your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination,” Hegseth said. “Fighting shoulder to shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force multiplier.”

Hegseth concluded by emphasizing that the operation is still in its early stages and that additional strikes and deployments are expected.

“Four days in, we have only just begun to fight,” he said. “America fights to win. And in Operation Epic Fury, we are.”