Hegseth Warns Iran to 'Choose Wisely' on Deal, Threatens Renewed Military Operations

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine delivered an update from the Pentagon briefing room on the status of military operations in Iran, currently paused while the US and Iran discuss a prolonged ceasefire. Hegseth told Iran to 'choose wisely' in those negotiations and Caine warned that the US is ready to restart military operations 'at a moment's notice.' Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, also joined the presser to provide an operational update.  Pre-war planning meant Iran’s military was able to mitigate the impact of US-Israeli strikes on its weapons arsenal and leadership, according to Western military intelligence assessments — which also say it retains the ability to respond if the ceasefire fails.

The country has sustained massive damage to its infrastructure and its most senior leaders have been killed. But operational planning undertaken in anticipation of the conflict was effective in preventing the destruction of its missile and drone capabilities as well as maximizing the impact of its military response, people familiar with the assessments said, requesting anonymity discussing private reports.

These provide a much more nuanced picture of the outcomes of the US-Israeli operation than that portrayed by President Donald Trump and US administration officials. The effectiveness of Iran’s earlier military planning also raises the prospect that it could use the current ceasefire to make preparations for any resumption of hostilities.

“Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, Militarily, and otherwise,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday. When the president announced the ceasefire last week, he said the US had “already met and exceeded all military objectives.”

Instead, plans put in place by Iran to replace senior military leaders in the event they were killed meant the country was able to minimize disruption to its command structures when they were targeted in the first days of the war, the people said.

It also appears that Iran retains solid reserves of long-range missiles, according to assessments provided by European and Gulf officials. It still has thousands of drones in its armory, the people added.

Iran’s missile stocks are a closely guarded secret. Some Western officials privately claim the US would need to conduct around two to three more weeks of strikes to completely degrade Iranian capabilities. But others say that may be an optimistic scenario: it could take longer, and Iran’s industrial and nuclear capabilities may still not be wiped out.

Iran has dispersed its missile launchers and drone infrastructure across the country and also shifts launchers around to different sites, making it harder for the US to quickly eliminate them.

The picture sits at odds with the assessment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a press briefing on April 8: “By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come,” he said, using the administration’s name for its operation.

Requests for comment to the Pentagon and CENTCOM were not immediately returned.

Trump said in June last year that the US had “obliterated” Iranian nuclear facilities in strikes that month. Iranian nuclear “dust” was “buried,” Hegseth said at his briefing, adding that “their command and control is so decimated they can’t really talk and coordinate.”

The Iranian regime remains stable and unified, according to the Western military intelligence assessments, even while the killing of senior leaders including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani has impacted the regime’s political decision-making ability, they said.

Stung by last year’s 12-day war with Israel — which the US also joined — Iran’s leaders devised plans to decentralize decision-making across the country along provincial lines. Called the “mosaic” defense strategy, it gives military commanders more power to make decisions independently.

Israel’s attacks on Iran last year prompted the country to introduce new decision-making bodies and reshuffle its leadership strategy.

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