US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that there will be the “largest strike package yet” in the Iran war.
His comments came after Israel struck an Iranian gas field and Iran carried out retaliatory attacks across the region.
Hegseth said the United States has already struck more than 7,000 targets inside Iran.
These strikes included military infrastructure. He added that Thursday will see the “largest strike package yet, just like yesterday was.”
“Our objectives, given directly from our America first president, remain exactly what they were on day one,” Hegseth told reporters, Reuters reports.
“These are not the media’s objectives, not Iran’s objectives, not new objectives. Our objectives – unchanged, on target and on plan,” Hegseth added further.
According to The Washington Post, the Pentagon is seeking an additional $200 billion to fund the war.
Hegseth did not directly confirm this figure, but he said, “It takes money to kill bad guys.”
Read more: Iran confirms martyrdom of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in Israeli strike
Iran vows “crushing revenge”
Iran has vowed a harsh and decisive response following the assassination of its top security official, Ali Larijani.
In a strong reaction, Iranian officials warned that the country would not remain silent and promised a “crushing” retaliation against those responsible.
Military leaders stated that revenge is now a national duty, signalling a possible intensification of attacks in the coming days.
‘Iran war will end anytime i want it to end,’ says Trump
The president of the United States of America (US), Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that the US and Israeli war against Iran will end “soon, adding that it will end anytime he wants it to end.
According to President Trump, the strikes have left “practically nothing left to target” in the country.
“Little this and that… any time I want it to end, it will end,” he said during a brief telephone interview with US outlet Axios.
Donald Trump said that ending the war is his decision alone, even though he had earlier said it would be decided together with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli and US officials told Axios that they expect the war to continue for at least two more weeks.
