Overview
- The U.S. offensive on Iran, launched on February 28 under the name Fureur épique, has made Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the dominant public voice of the campaign.
- Hegseth said March 10 would be the most intense day of strikes and announced the deployment of more fighters and bombers targeting Tehran.
- He has adopted uncompromising language, asserting Iran is “losing badly” and pledging not to yield until the enemy is “totally and definitively defeated,” while invoking divine protection for U.S. troops.
- His path to the Pentagon was narrowly secured on January 24, 2025 with a vice‑presidential tie‑breaker, and he faces longstanding allegations of sexual misconduct, financial malfeasance and alcohol abuse.
- Reporting has flagged judgment and competence concerns, citing claims he shared strike timing in a Signal chat, berated survivors of a Caribbean operation, showed insensitivity at Dover, and advanced a December 2025 strategy that unsettled European allies as many Americans voice disapproval of the Iran strikes.