- Title: US says coming days in Iran war will be decisive, urges Tehran to make a deal
- Date: 31st March 2026
- Summary: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 31, 2026) (REUTERS) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH AND CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, GENERAL DAN CAINE, ARRIVING FOR BRIEFING / (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING: "Well, over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit our troops fighting in operation Epic Fury. We were on
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Donald Trump Iran Pentagon Pete Hegseth war
- Location: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
- City: ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,North America,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001895831032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told a briefing on Tuesday (March 31) the next few days in the Middle East conflict would be decisive, saying there had been major desertions from the Iranian armed forces.
Hegseth, citing intelligence, said the U.S. and Israeli strikes were damaging the morale of the Iranian military. This, he said, was triggering widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and causing frustration amongst senior leaders.
"We have more and more options, and they have less ... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive," he said. "Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it," he said.
Hegseth also said he had visited troops in the Middle East on Saturday (March 28) to witness the military operation against Iran.
(Production: Greg Savoy, Kristin Neubauer) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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