War with Iran Has ‘Only Just Begun,’ Says Defense Secretary Hegseth as U.S. Expands Air Campaign and Sinks Warship

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warns the Iran conflict will intensify as U.S. forces expand strikes inland and a submarine sinks an Iranian ship near Sri Lanka.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 4, 2026, 11:24 AM EST

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Politico

A Prolonged Conflict on the Horizon

The United States military leadership provided a sobering assessment of the war with Iran on Wednesday, indicating that the five-day-old conflict is likely to evolve into a sustained campaign. During a press briefing at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine warned that the fighting is "far from over." These statements align with recent predictions from President Donald Trump, who suggested the operation could last for weeks. Despite the mounting intensity of the strikes, neither military official provided a clear roadmap for de-escalation or a definition of what would constitute ultimate victory.

Hegseth Signals Intensified Airstrikes

Secretary Hegseth adopted a defiant tone, echoing the President’s rhetoric regarding the scale of the American response. "We’ve only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy and defeat their capabilities," Hegseth told reporters. He indicated that the "big wave" of the operation is still to come, with additional bombers and fighters arriving in the region. These assets are expected to deploy heavy precision munitions, including 2,000-pound bombs, likely aimed at hardened targets such as Iran’s underground nuclear facilities and weapons storage sites.

Degrading Iranian Capabilities Amid U.S. Losses

Gen. Dan Caine provided a tactical update on the air campaign, noting that joint U.S. and Israeli strikes have successfully degraded Iran’s ability to launch drones and missiles. According to Caine, ballistic missile launches have dropped by 23 percent, while one-way attack drone shots have decreased by 73 percent since the start of the war. However, the conflict has not been without American casualties. Six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed in Kuwait on Sunday when an Iranian Shahed drone struck a tactical operations center. Similar drones have targeted Israeli civilians and the Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, highlighting the persistent threat posed by low-flying aerial systems.