US objectives in Iran have not changed, Hegseth says

US objectives in Iran have not changed, Hegseth says US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the United States' objectives in the war against Iran have not changed since strikes started on 28 February. Hegseth told reporters that the objectives remained to destroy Iran's missile launchers, its defence industrial base and navy as well as never allowing Iran to get a nuclear weapon. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on 19 March 2026.