Hegseth: “They are toast, and they know it”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Wednesday that “America is winning” on the fifth day of the war against Iran, saying the U.S. and Israel would soon have “complete control” of Iranian airspace.

“America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” he said. “Only the United States of America could lead this. Only us. But when you add the Israeli Defense Forces, a devastatingly capable force, the combination is sheer destruction for our radical Islamist Iranian adversaries. They are toast, and they know it.”

The Pentagon chief said the operations had “only just begun” and that additional bombers and fighter jets were heading to the region.

“I hope all the folks watching understand what ‘uncontested airspace’ and ‘complete control’ means: It means we will fly all day, all night,” he said. “Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli air power, every minute of every day until we decide it’s over — and Iran will be able to do nothing about it,” he said.