At a Pentagon press briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites were not meant to commence open-ended conflict.
00:00Thank you very much. General Kane, I understand OPSEC, I respect OPSEC. Can you say at all what security procedures are being taken to protect U.S. troops in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East?
00:12And Secretary Hegseth, as a global war on terrorism veteran, what do you say to veterans who may be concerned the U.S. is getting into another open-ended war in the Middle East over weapons of mass destruction?
00:23Thanks, sir, for the question. I won't comment on what force protection measures are being taken in the region.
00:32What I will say is we're being proactive and not reactive and being very thoughtful about ensuring that we do all that we can to protect our forces out there.
00:44And I would just say, as the President has directed and made clear, this is most certainly not open-ended.
00:49It doesn't mean it limits our ability to respond. We will respond if necessary.
00:55The most powerful military in the world is postured and prepared to defend our people.
00:59But what the President gave us, as I said, was a focused, powerful, and clear mission on the destruction of Iranian nuclear capabilities.
01:08Those were the targets. That's what was struck. That was overwhelming. That's what was overwhelming.
01:13That's what the Iranian regime needs to understand. As the President put out last night, he wants peace.
01:19There needs to be a negotiated settlement here.
01:22We ultimately demonstrated that Iran cannot have a nuclear capability.
01:26That is a very clear mission set on this operation.
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