U.S. Defense Secretary Austin welcomes Australian Prime Minister Morrison

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held a joint press briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine on Monday, delivering one of the most aggressive public defences of the Iran campaign since Operation Epic Fury began. Hegseth described the operation as "the most lethal, most complex and most precise aerial operation in history," launched under President Trump's direct orders. He said Iran's leadership had waged a "savage, one-sided war against America" for 47 years — through car bombs in Beirut, rocket attacks on US ships, murders at US embassies, and roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the nuclear question, Hegseth was unequivocal: Iran had been building missiles and drones as "a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions," and had "a conventional gun to our head" as it attempted to acquire a bomb — a plan that "almost worked under Obama and his terrible deal, but not under this president." He also issued a stark personal warning: "If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on Earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, and we will kill you."