Iran operations won't become 'endless war': US defence secretary

WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that military operations against Iran would not lead to an "endless war" and that the aim was to destroy Tehran's missiles, navy, and other security infrastructure.

"We're hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly, and unapologetically," Hegseth said during a press conference at the Pentagon. The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight. 

Separately, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman US General Dan Caine said it will take time to achieve US military objectives in Iran and additional US casualties are expected as the United States and Israel's strikes on Iran continued for a third day.

"This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that United States Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work," Caine told reporters. He added that the United States continued to send additional troops to the Middle East, even after a massive military buildup.

Caine's comments come a day after US President Donald Trump suggested that strikes against Iran could go on for the next four weeks.

Meanwhile, three US F-15E Strike Eagle jets supporting Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait in an apparent friendly fire incident, CENTCOM confirmed in an official statement. Iran's Tasnim news agency had reported that five soldiers were killed in US attacks in central Iran, according to Al Jazeera.

CENTCOM said the aircraft were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences during active combat that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones. It added that all six crew members ejected safely and are in stable condition, and that the cause of the incident is under investigation.

The command said search-and-rescue operations were immediately initiated, and the jets were flying as part of ongoing US military operations in the region.

Moreover, four US service members have been killed in action as part of Operation Epic Fury, US CENTCOM said in an official statement.

It said several additional personnel sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are in the process of being returned to duty. CENTCOM noted that major combat operations are ongoing and the US response effort continues. 

US President Donald Trump paid tribute to the killed as "true American patriots" but warned that there will likely be more casualties. "That's the way it is," he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Monday that it had carried out a strike in Beirut killing Hussein Makled, who served as the head of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters.

Separately, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it has targeted the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a headquarters linked to the Israeli Air Force, according to reports by Xinhua and AFP as Iran pressed on with a third day of strikes in the Gulf.

Earlier, several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning, Kuwait's defence ministry said. "Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived," a defence ministry spokesman said in a statement, adding that the cause was under investigation.

"Authorities immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. He noted that their condition is stable," the statement added.

Kuwait said its air defences intercepted hostile drones, in a third consecutive day of Iranian retaliatory strikes on neighbouring Gulf states.

Moreover, the Iranian Army said it targeted the US Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait and hostile naval vessels in the northern Indian Ocean, Al Jazeera reported. 

Gulf states condemn Iran attacks

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, in a joint statement with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, strongly condemned Iran’s missile and drone attacks across the region.

“These unjustified strikes targeted sovereign territory, endangered civilian populations, and damaged civilian infrastructure,” the statement said, referring to attacks in Bahrain, Iraq—including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region—Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

The statement described Iran’s actions as a “dangerous escalation that violates the sovereignty of multiple states and threatens regional stability,” adding that the “targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilising behavior.”