At a press conference, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the American military campaign against Iran would not drag on indefinitely. He stressed that Washington does not intend to repeat the Iraqi scenario and remarked that, in his view, wars eventually end and this one «will not go on forever».

At the same time, Hegseth did not rule out the possibility of a ground operation by US forces on Iranian territory. He noted that there are currently no American troops in Iran, but added that the Pentagon will not publicly spell out which steps it is prepared to take or reject.

Hegseth said the United States is fighting with the aim of winning and does not plan to waste either time or soldiers’ lives. He acknowledged that an operation of this scale will inevitably involve casualties and reminded reporters that, as he put it, war is «hell» and cannot be anything else.

According to Hegseth, US President Donald Trump has full freedom to decide how long the campaign against Iran will last — whether two, four or six weeks. He added that the timetable may shift, but the United States will carry out the tasks it has set for itself.