Pentagon chief says US intensifying strikes on Iran

AFP | Washington

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US attacks on Iran will hit a new intensity Tuesday and the war will continue as long as President Donald Trump decides, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.

"Today will be yet again, our most intense day of strikes inside Iran -- the most fighters, the most bombers," Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon more than 10 days into the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

As for a timeline for the war, Trump "gets to control the throttle. He's the one deciding," Hegseth said.

"It's not for me to posit whether it's the beginning, the middle or the end," the defense secretary said. Trump had said the previous day that the war could end "very soon," but remained vague.

Among the goals is destruction of Iran's navy, which has been targeted with "artillery, fighters, bombers and sea-launched missiles," General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, said alongside Hegseth on Tuesday.

Caine said US forces continue "to hunt and strike mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities" -- weapons Iran could use to block maritime traffic.

Hegseth meanwhile accused Iran of "moving rocket launchers into civilian neighborhoods, near schools, near hospitals to try to prevent our ability to strike," saying "that's how they operate."

"The last 24 hours have seen Iran fire the lowest number of missiles they've been capable of firing yet," he said.