Secretary Hegseth: President Trump is doing what no other president had the guts to do. Previous presidents were all talk. He's all action. On the battlefield, because of the latitude the president has given us, American firepower is only increasing, Iran's decreasing. We have more and more options, and they have less.

Secretary Hegseth: The latest intel is clear out of CENTCOM. Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to wide-spread desertions, key personnel shortages, and causing frustration amongst senior leaders.

Chairman Caine: The Joint Force continues to destroy Iran's ballistic missile and UAS capabilities. We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs, and this remains a truly joint effort, prosecuted around the clock from air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. Long-range bombers from U.S. Strategic Command are coordinating with tactical fighter aircraft from our joint force launch from bases around the region and the continental United States, while simultaneously, Navy fighters from the sea, and sailors, continue to project power from the sea, while Army and Marine artillery units continue to execute long-range precision fires deep into enemy territory against high value targets.

Secretary Hegseth: No one has rebuilt that Defense Industrial Base faster, and with more purpose, than President Trump in his first term, and now, we're rebuilding the Arsenal of Freedom. Our defense industrial base is more vibrant today that it's been since World War II, and growing rapidly. Contrast that with Iran, who's defense industrial base is literally completely destroyed. Their ability to reconstitute the weapons of war they're using now, that they're hiding in underground facilities, and attriting over time; their ability to rebuild that is negligible.

Secretary Hegseth: You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do, or what you are not willing to do. To include boots on the ground. Our adversary right now thinks there are fifteen different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground, and guess what? There are. So if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department. Or maybe we don't have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work. Or maybe there's a different approach. The point is to be unpredictable in that, certainly not let anybody know what you're willing to do or not do, but if anybody has internalized the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, as the first one, President Trump, who called them out for what they are, he's not going to repeat those lessons.