US strikes against Iran will reach an unprecedented level on 10th March, and the war will last as long as President Donald Trump chooses, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has stated.

In the war against Iran in the US with Israel, Hegseth announced at a news conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday, “it would be the most violent day of attacks within Iran, the most combatants, the most bombers.”

Hegseth: “Death and destruction from the sky all day long. We’re playing for keeps. Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it …… pic.twitter.com/L5hJ5uZSVw

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2026

“Concerning a war timeline, Trump is the one to play with the throttle. He is the decision-maker,” Hegseth said.

“Whether it is the start, middle or end,” the defence secretary said, “it is not my business to affirm that.”

The day before, Trump said that the war might end very soon, but he was not specific.

“Such aims include the destruction of the Iranian navy that has been attacked using artillery, fighters, bombers and sea-launched missiles,” as General Dan Caine, the senior US military officer, told Hegseth on Tuesday.

Blocking all oil exports

Iran has promised to close all oil shipments through the Gulf until the war is concluded, and Trump has promised to bring “death, fury and fire” in case Tehran disrupts crude shipments.

Caine reported that US troops still “pursue and attack mine-laying ships and mine storage capacities,” which Iran could utilise to obstruct sea traffic.

Hegseth, in his turn, alleged that “Iran had placed rocket launchers in civilian districts, close to schools, close to hospitals, in order to attempt to stop us from being able to attack, and that is how they do it.”

He did not specifically respond to a strike at the beginning of the fight that struck an elementary school in the southern city of Minab, killing over 150 according to Iran, but he added that there was “no country that took more precautions to make sure there is never targeting of civilians than the United States of America.”

School attack

Trump has already claimed that the incident is under investigation, but hinted on Monday that Iran might have launched a Tomahawk missile at the school itself.

Iran lacks Tomahawks – an American weapon that has been widely utilised by the US troops even in the present conflict.

In retaliation for the war, Tehran has launched waves of missiles and drones on nations within the region that host American forces, though Hegseth claimed on Tuesday that the amount of fire is reducing.

He said, “Iran had fired the fewest number of missiles possible at them in the last 24 hours.”