U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is briefing reporters at the Pentagon.
He began by talking about Trump’s “Project Freedom”, which he said was “separate and distinct” from the U.S. operation against Iran, which it has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury”. “Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope, and temporary in duration, with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression. American forces won’t need to enter Iranian waters or airspace. It’s not necessary. We’re not looking for a fight,” he said.