With U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran entering their second week, tonight you will hear from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to the Pentagon, more than 50,000 members of the U.S. military are involved in the execution of what it calls “Operation Epic Fury.”
Our CBS News colleague Major Garrett spoke with Secretary Hegseth about the war with Iran. The U.S. military said it had already struck 3,000 targets inside Iran when the interview took place on Friday.
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**Major Garrett:** The Speaker of the House said late this week, “The mission is,” and I’m quoting him directly here, “nearly accomplished by all estimates.” Is that true?
**Pete Hegseth:** Oh, we’re very much on track, on plan. I was down at CENTCOM yesterday—
**Major Garrett:** Someone might hear that and think it’s almost over—
**Pete Hegseth:** Well, there’s no—we’re not flying a mission accomplished banner like George W. Bush did on an aircraft carrier. We’re not doing that and we haven’t done that. But we can be clear with the American people that this is not a fair fight. And that’s on purpose. Our capabilities are overwhelming compared to what Iran’s are. Frankly, when you combine our Air Force with the Israeli Defense Forces, it’s the two most powerful air forces in the world.
The ability for us to be up over the top and hunting with more conventional munitions—gravity bombs, 500-pound, 1,000-pound, 2,000-pound bombs on military targets—that effort of the campaign hasn’t even really begun yet. This will showcase even more how we will execute on those objectives.
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**Major Garrett:** The President said recently there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. What does that look like? How will you know it’s real?
**Pete Hegseth:** It means we’re fighting to win. It means we set the terms. We’ll know when they’re not capable of fighting anymore. There will be a point when they have no choice but to surrender. Whether they know it or not, they will be combat-ineffective and will surrender.
**Major Garrett:** Typically, the understanding of a surrender is person-to-person. Is that what would be required in a matter like this?
**Pete Hegseth:** There are many different ways. Whether they want to admit it or not, whether their pride lets them say it out loud or not—it’s President Trump who will set the terms of that. The President of Iran said yesterday that the U.S. demand for unconditional surrender is, quote, “a dream that they should take to their grave.”
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**Major Garrett:** There was a very long war between Iran and Iraq, almost eight years, and they never surrendered in that war. Does that factor into your or the President’s calculus?
**Pete Hegseth:** I mean, there was a really long fight that I was a part of, that my generation was a part of.
**Major Garrett:** Yes. I know that, sir.
**Pete Hegseth:** In Iraq and Afghanistan, where many foolish approaches were used. This is war. This is conflict. This is about bringing your enemy to their knees. Whether they have a ceremony in Tehran Square to surrender—that’s up to them.
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Some supporters of the President have criticized him, suggesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled the U.S. into a war that did not prioritize American interests.
**Major Garrett:** Do you want to address that criticism?
**Pete Hegseth:** All I know is, I’m in the room every day. I see how President Trump operates, and what he’s putting first—it’s America, Americans, and American interests.
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**Major Garrett:** It’s been reported that on February 23rd, the Israelis, through Prime Minister Netanyahu, provided key intelligence on the likely whereabouts of Ali Khamenei and his inner circle. The U.S. then confirmed this through the CIA, which presented the President with an opportunity that precipitated this war. Is that accurate?
**Pete Hegseth:** President Trump’s approach has been to advance American interests from the beginning. Intelligence was gathered, whether from Israelis or ours, and always checked by our agencies to ensure accuracy. Often, the best way to start operations is a trigger- or condition-based moment, and we always control the throttle. Ultimately, we act to protect American interests and American lives.
**Major Garrett:** Some might say this was an opportunity rather than an imminent threat.
**Pete Hegseth:** I think much of that discussion is silly and academic. They have been killing us for 47 years. They have unabated nuclear ambitions. When we obliterated their nuclear program at the end of last June in Operation Midnight Hammer, they should have come to the table but they didn’t. As a result, the President sees a generational threat.
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Despite the administration’s claims that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was obliterated in June, international monitors estimate Iran still possesses more than 970 pounds of nearly bomb-grade uranium.
**Major Garrett:** Is it possible to achieve the President’s objectives if we don’t locate, obtain, and extract highly enriched uranium?
**Pete Hegseth:** There are many ways to address that. They’ve used conventional missile umbrellas growing every day to cover their nuclear blackmail ambitions. We will make sure their nuclear ambitions are never achieved.
**Major Garrett:** Will we take it out ourselves?
**Pete Hegseth:** I would never tell you or anybody else what our options are.
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**Major Garrett:** Do we have any overt or covert forces inside Iran now?
**Pete Hegseth:** I wouldn’t tell you if we did.
**Major Garrett:** Earlier this week, you said no. Is that still the answer?
**Pete Hegseth:** Yeah, that’s still the answer. But we reserve the right to take any option—boots on the ground or no boots on the ground.
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**Major Garrett:** CBS News has sources telling us Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. positions and movements. Is that a big and dangerous deal?
**Pete Hegseth:** We’re tracking everything. Our commanders know what’s going on. We have the best intelligence in the world. The President has a knack for mitigating those risks. The American people can rest assured.
**Major Garrett:** Can the American people expect conversations with the Russians to stop this?
**Pete Hegseth:** President Trump has a unique relationship with many world leaders, which allows him to get things done that other presidents, including Joe Biden, could not. Whether direct or indirect, messages can be delivered.
**Major Garrett:** Does this put U.S. personnel in more danger?
**Pete Hegseth:** No one is putting us in danger. We’re putting the other guys in danger. That’s our job. The only ones who should be worried now are Iranians who think they’re going to live.
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Six U.S. Army reservists were killed in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait last Sunday. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth attended the dignified transfer yesterday at Dover Air Force Base. One more service member’s death was announced this afternoon.
**Pete Hegseth:** The President has been right to say there will be casualties. Things like this don’t happen without casualties. There will be more. Our generation knows what it’s like to see Americans come home in caskets. But it doesn’t weaken us; it stiffens our resolve to finish this fight.
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So far, more than 1,600 Iranians have been killed, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran. This includes 168 people, mostly children, at a school in southern Iran during an attack.
**Major Garrett:** Have you concluded whether the U.S. was involved in any military strike at that school?
**Pete Hegseth:** We’re still investigating. Unlike our adversaries, we never target civilians.
**Major Garrett:** Two officials reported it was likely U.S. involvement. Is that false?
**Pete Hegseth:** I’ve said we’re investigating.
**Major Garrett:** If you could tell the public it definitively wasn’t us, you would?
**Pete Hegseth:** I’m prepared to say only that it’s being investigated.
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Tonight, Iran announced that a son of its slain leader would replace him. President Trump said this morning any leader picked without his approval is “not going to last long.”
**Major Garrett:** You said this is not a regime-change war, but the regime has changed. Can you square the two?
**Pete Hegseth:** Sure. I meant what I said. This is not a regime-change war in the conventional George W. Bush sense of hundreds of thousands of troops. In Afghanistan, I saw Americans trying to remake a society with AK-47s and cell phones into a Jeffersonian democracy—it was never going to work.
This is not about remaking Iranian society from an American perspective. We tried that, and the American people rejected those wars. President Trump called them dumb, and we are not fighting that way.
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**Major Garrett:** The President said he would like to protect some people he hopes might come to power in Iran. Is that a new mission for your department?
**Pete Hegseth:** No.
**Major Garrett:** How would you protect people inside the country whom the President might support?
**Pete Hegseth:** The best way to protect them is what we’re doing right now. The current American and Israeli efforts represent a generational opportunity for the people of Iran.
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This past week, Iran launched missiles and drones at nearly a dozen Middle Eastern countries, including American allies Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
**Major Garrett:** Our Margaret Brennan reported that these allies are running low on interceptors. Is that true? And how prepared are we to help them restock as the campaign continues?
**Pete Hegseth:** Very prepared. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper said Iranian missile shots are down 90% from their peak. Our munitions projections exceed the need. We can crossload for allies while ensuring our troops and bases are cared for first. Where we can help allies, we will.
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Since the war began, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of the world’s oil flows—have stalled. U.S. gas prices are up by nearly 50 cents per gallon.
**Major Garrett:** The President said the Strait of Hormuz will be “taken care of.” How exactly? How will ships regain the confidence to move without being threatened by Iranian boats or gun emplacements?
**Pete Hegseth:** We’re taking care of a lot of that through American firepower. The Iranian Navy is largely no more. There will be more boats sunk, no doubt. Their naval power projection is diminishing and will continue to do so.
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Again, I want viewers to understand: this is only just the beginning.
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*Produced by Andy Court, Andrew Bast, Arden Farhi.*
*Associate Producers: Annabelle Hanflig and Emily Cameron.*
*Broadcast Associates: Erin DuCharme and Jane Greeley.*
*Edited by Craig Crawford.*
*Assistant Editor: Aisha Crespo.*
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-us-strikes-iran-trump-plans-60-minutes-transcript/
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