Defense Secretary Hegseth: ‘This Mission Was Not, Has Not Been About Regime Change’
President Donald Trump desires a cessation of hostilities and a path towards peace following successful strikes Saturday that devastated Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made clear Sunday.
The strikes to remove the threat of Iranian nuclear attacks on the U.S. or its allies followed Iran’s refusal to meaningfully pursue a peaceful resolution through diplomatic negotiation, which culminated in Israel launching a wide scale missile attack which decimated Iran’s missile defense.
Despite war hawks calling to continue operations until the Iranian regime is eliminated, Hegseth insisted the United States will pursue a path to peace now that the threat of Iranian nuclear attack has been eliminated.
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‘This mission was not, has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said Sunday morning in a briefing from the Pentagon alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. “The President authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self defense of our troops and our ally Israel.”
Hegseth told reporters “the battle damage assessment is ongoing” but “that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike, and had the desired effect.”
With the strikes complete, a further weakened Iran has a renewed opportunity to come to the negotiating table and pursue stability in the Middle East.
“I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being directly delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,” Hegseth said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on Iran during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“They understand precisely what the American position is, precisely what steps they can take to allow for peace, and we hope they do so.”
Acknowledging that “anything can happen in conflict,” Hegseth said “the scope of this was intentionally limited. That’s the message that we’re sending. With the capabilities of the American military nearly unlimited. So Iran, in that sense, has a choice, but we’ve made it very clear to them.”
“Now is the time to come forward for peace,” he added.
The overwhelming success of the strikes, which were carried out covertly to catch Iran by total surprise, should make clear to the Iranian regime that American military capability far outmatches their own, and that Trump’s promises to bring Iran to heel are not idle talk.
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“[The] scope and scale of what occurred last night would take the breath away of almost any American if you had an opportunity to watch it in real time,” Hegseth said. “And I think Tehran is certainly calculating the reality that planes flew from the middle of America in Missouri overnight, completely undetected over three of their most highly sensitive sites, and we were able to destroy nuclear capabilities, and our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.”
“We believe that will have a clear psychological impact on how they view the future,” he continued, “and we certainly hope they take the path to negotiate peace. But I could not be more proud of how this building operated, of the precision, the sensitivity and the professionalism of the troops involved in this effort.”
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye
