Hegseth’s ‘Hunt, Dismantle, Demoralize, Destroy’ Vow As U.S. Closes In On Iranian Air Space

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the U.S. Air Force, working in partnership with Israeli forces, would establish total dominance of Iranian airspace within days, allowing for the complete destruction of Iran’s military capabilities. 

“Starting last night, and to be completed in a few days, in under a week, the two most powerful air forces in the world will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace,” Hegseth said during a briefing at the Pentagon. “It means we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing, and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military.”

Hegseth added that the Air Force had “delivered twice the air power” of the 2003 Iraq operation. 

“They are toast, and they know it,” Hegseth said. “And we have only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy, and defeat their capabilities.”

Hegseth noted that once complete control of the skies was established, the U.S. Air Force would begin dropping 500, 1000, and 2000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs. He said the United States had a “nearly unlimited stockpile” of these bombs. 

“We used more exquisite standoff munitions at the start, but no longer need to. Our stockpiles of those, as well as Patriots, remains extremely strong,” he said. “We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.”

Hegseth’s comments come after reports that some at the Pentagon are concerned about the possibility that the United States could run out of munitions in an extended conflict. 

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine gave a more guarded answer on the munitions stockpile. 

“We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense,” he said. “As a matter of practice, I don’t want to be talking about quantities, and I know there’s been a great debate about that, and I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter.”

Caine said the military had so far carried out 2,000 strikes targeting Iran and sunk 20 Iranian ships. He also said that ballistic missile shots fired by Iran have declined by 86% from the first day of fighting, and drone attacks have dropped 76%. Caine also noted that local air superiority had been established in some spots.