Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made a visit to U.S. Southern Command headquarters on Thursday, then gave an update on the department's efforts in the operation known as Epic Fury against Iran at Central Command (CENTCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida..
Earlier in the morning, as my colleague Bob Hoge wrote, Sec. Hegseth brought together an international contingent of countries in the Western Hemisphere, which possibly included Argentina, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, to fully garner their commitment to security and shared values.
Hoge reported:
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth headed to Doral, Florida, Thursday to host the first Americas Counter Cartel Conference at U.S. Southern Command Headquarters. The American-led meeting of more than 18 Caribbean countries aims to create a coalition to combat narco-terrorism and protect the entire Western hemisphere.
New: House Votes on War Powers Resolution Over Operation Epic Fury
.@SECWAR has arrived at @CENTCOM pic.twitter.com/xt9732HnHg
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
Sec. Hegseth spoke about a possible "miscalculation" on the Iranian leadership's part, assuring any foes looking on that the U.S. "has no shortage of munitions. Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons" are not running out any time soon::
"Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the IRGC in Iran," says @SecWar.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
"Our commitment to our mission objectives only increases as our advantages continue to increase...We have only just begun to fight—and fight decisively." pic.twitter.com/sGKOhjAVEF
The secretary was joined at the presser by Admiral Brad Cooper, who is the commander of CENTCOM.
"You are the man for this mission, " Hegseth said, before introducing Cooper, who rattled off the details of the mission so far:
.@CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper: "In just the last 72 hours, America's bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran... In just the last hour, U.S. B-2 bombers dropped dozen of 2,000lb Penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers." pic.twitter.com/GwsoQ37gJi
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
Admiral Cooper continued with more information on the larger "task" President Trump gave our military:
.@CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper: "@POTUS gave us another task — to raze or level Iran’s ballistic missile industrial base. We’re not just hitting what they have, were destroying their ability to rebuild...we will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability… pic.twitter.com/xEZGVuoc3T
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
.@CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper: "@POTUS gave us another task — to raze or level Iran’s ballistic missile industrial base. We’re not just hitting what they have, were destroying their ability to rebuild...we will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that’s absolutely in progress."
Cooper marveled at the major progress that has happened between just 24 hours ago and today:
.@CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper: "If I just look back over the last 24 hours of the operation compared to the where we were to start, ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90%... Drone attacks have decreased by 83%... we’re now up over 30 ships [destroyed]." pic.twitter.com/tWKgheNfKv
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
He also spoke about the use of the LUCAS drone:
.@CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
"LUCAS — indispensable... This was an original Iranian drone design. We captured it, pulled the guts out, sent it back to America, put a little 'Made in America' on it, brought it back here, and we're shooting it at the Iranians." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LgfUr0D7DG
Sec. Hegseth spoke soaringly about the courage of the Iranian people:
.@SECWAR "The Iranian people showed a lot of courage in those protests.
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
The Iranian regime was revealed for what it is in the way it reacted to that." pic.twitter.com/43b7gC0JAC
Dujring Q and A with the press, Hegseth reconfirmed the earlier comment by CENTCOM debunking the Iranian propaganda about a U.S. plane being hit:
The reports of an F-15 being shot down are FALSE!
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
.@SECWAR "As you can imagine, Iran is doing EVERYTHING it can to peddle in lies...
They have shut down the internet. They are hoping they can convince their own population that they are having success." pic.twitter.com/HfOSK3Qx99
He also said there weren't going to be refugees flowing into the U.S, as a result of the mission in Iran:
.@SecWar: "I think it's safe to say there’s no plan for a wave of new Middle Eastern refugees to the United States of America." pic.twitter.com/NuP4R8KIs7
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2026
Here were some more items from the press questions, according to independent journalist Catherine Herridge:
- President will have “a heck of a say” in next Iranian leadership
- Reports of F-15 shot down are false, characterized as Iranian propaganda for domestic audience which is cut off
- On reports of chaos, “couldn’t be further from the truth‘
- Iran’s attacks on regional nations is driving them closer to the US
Hegseth left one thing without question:
.@SECWAR "Our timeline is ours and ours alone to control.
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 5, 2026
AS LONG AS IT TAKES TO ENSURE the United States of America to achieve these objectives." pic.twitter.com/ij8DZWVx0V
"Our timeline is ours and ours alone to control. AS LONG AS IT TAKES TO ENSURE the United States of America to achieve these objectives," Hegseth said.
You can watch the full press conference below:
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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