Pete Hegseth warns ‘there will be more casualties’ in Iran military operation
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that more casualties are anticipated in the continuing Operation Epic Fury in Iran, with seven US troopers having been killed to this point in the preventing.
Hegseth made the remark throughout an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday.
“The president’s been proper to say there will be coincidences“Hegseth stated. “Things like this don’t happen without coincidences.”
“There will be more casualties,” he continued. “And no one is — I mean, especially our generation knows what it’s like to see Americans come home in caskets, it’s — but that doesn’t weaken us one bit. It stiffens our spine and our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish.”
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US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks on the “Shield of the Americas” Summit in Miami, Florida, March 7, 2026. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Six US service members had been killed in a March 1 Iranian drone assault in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, whereas supporting Operation Epic Fury. The US military stated a seventh service member died of accidents from an Iranian assault on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1.
The US and Israel final week launched joint strikes in opposition to Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching strikes in opposition to Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, together with Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Residents look on and take footage as flames and smoke rise from an oil storage facility struck as assaults hit town through the US–Israeli military marketing campaign in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Alireza Sotakbar/ISNA through AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday informed NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that if the US deploys floor troops in Iran, “we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them.”
“We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes,” he stated. “We continue to defend ourselves, and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale.”
When reporters requested President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on Saturday about potential ground troops being used in the Iranian operation, the president stated there would “have to be a very good reason.”
From left, President Donald Trump, White House particular envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, middle, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hearken to a reporter’s query whereas touring aboard Air Force One en route from Dover Air Force Base, Del., to Miami, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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“And I would say if we ever did that, [Iran] would be so decimated they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level,” Trump informed reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
