Summary
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine briefed reporters at the Pentagon on Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led, Israel-enabled campaign President Trump approved. They described it as a coordinated air and maritime effort to degrade Iran’s ability to project power, eliminate offensive missile and drone capabilities, and target missile production, naval forces and related security infrastructure.
How the operation began and its purpose
According to Pentagon officials, Operation Epic Fury began in the early hours of Feb. 28 under U.S. Central Command. The operation was planned and rehearsed over months and builds on earlier strikes and targeting work. Officials said the mission is explicitly military: to reduce Iran’s long-range strike capability, prevent a conventional “umbrella” that could shield nuclear ambitions, and protect U.S. forces and regional partners.
Combined effects and strike activity
The campaign has blended kinetic air and maritime strikes with non-kinetic actions by U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Space Command to degrade Iran’s command, control, communications and sensors. In its opening phase, coalition forces hit hundreds to thousands of preplanned targets across Iran, prioritizing command-and-control nodes, ballistic missile sites, naval assets, underground facilities and other military infrastructure. U.S. long-range platforms, including B-2 bombers, conducted extended sorties as part of those strikes.
Defenses and force posture
Pentagon officials said theater defenses — Patriot and THAAD batteries, Aegis-capable destroyers and an integrated air-and-missile-defense network — have intercepted hundreds of ballistic missiles and countered persistent one-way attack UAV threats. The U.S. has repositioned forces regionally in recent weeks, including fighters, tankers, carrier strike groups, logistics and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, and continues to flow additional forces to commanders in the theater.
Casualties, risks and campaign length
The Pentagon acknowledged U.S. casualties, saying service members have been lost and that additional losses are expected; leaders pledged support for families while continuing the mission. Officials declined to give a precise timeline. Public remarks by the president mentioned a weeks-long time frame, but defense leaders said operations will continue until military objectives are met and reiterated that the president sets the tempo and conditions. Hegseth and Caine characterized Epic Fury as a focused, finite military campaign — not nation-building or occupation — while warning it will take time and involve difficult, gritty operations in some target sets.
Coalition and interagency coordination
Officials described close coordination with Israel and regional partners. Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, leads the joint force in the area of responsibility. Multiple combatant commands — CENTCOM, EUCOM, SPACECOM, CYBERCOM, STRATCOM and TRANSCOM — have roles in the campaign. Regional air defenses in countries such as Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have contributed to the integrated defense. The Pentagon also credited the integration of air, land, sea, space, cyber and special operations forces, along with reserve and National Guard units mobilized in support.
Targets, effects and assessment
Strike packages focused on layered target sets tied to missile production, naval forces and intelligence networks. Cyber and space effects were used to degrade Iran’s sensing and coordination. U.S. leaders described the objective as attriting Iran’s long-range strike capability so it cannot threaten U.S. forces, allies or shipping lanes. The Pentagon said it is conducting deliberate battle-damage assessments and will adjust targeting and follow-on strikes as assessments come in.
Policy, messaging and domestic security
Pentagon leaders said commanders have both defensive and offensive authorities necessary to protect forces and prosecute the campaign, while withholding operational details for security reasons. Officials stressed the campaign’s military aims — dismantling attack and production capabilities — and said it is not intended as formal regime change, though they acknowledged the strikes’ effects on Iranian leadership and regional security. U.S. interagency partners are monitoring threats at home, and authorities are responding to any domestic incidents.
Reporter questions and operational limits
Reporters pressed on timelines, force levels and whether U.S. ground combat operations are occurring inside Iran. Leaders declined to discuss specific force numbers or future options, saying that the president will set tempo, and stated there are no announced U.S. ground combat operations inside Iran while planning accounts for many contingencies.
Bottom line
The Pentagon portrays Operation Epic Fury as a high-tempo, joint air-and-maritime campaign aimed at degrading Iran’s offensive military and nuclear-related capabilities while protecting U.S. forces and regional partners. Officials emphasize the operation is ongoing, carries risk and casualties, and will be adapted as necessary to achieve the stated military objectives.