TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the U.S. had won its war with Iran several hours after a two-week ceasefire came into place.
"Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield," Hegseth told a press conference, using Washington's official term for its military campaign.
"Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it," Hegseth said.
He claimed that Iran could "no longer build missiles" due to the damage wrought to its military industry by U.S. strikes.
Hegseth said that the U.S. would have proceeded to destroy Iranian bridges and energy infrastructure had Tehran not agreed to the two-week ceasefire deal.
He said that U.S. forces would stay in the region to ensure that Iran complies with the terms of the deal.
"We'll be hanging around, we're not going anywhere," Hegseth said.
Under the terms of the Pakistan-brokered deal, the U.S. and Israel are to halt their attacks on Iran and Tehran is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a 10-point Iranian proposal to end the war — which includes multiple points likely to be highly contentious to Washington, including reparations, a U.S. military withdrawal from the Middle East and recognition of Iran's nuclear enrichment program for civilian purposes — is a "workable" basis for further talks.
In his Wednesday comments, Hegseth said that the U.S. expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium stocks, saying: "They will give it up and we will take it."
Meanwhile, top general Dan Caine said at the same press conference that U.S. forces remained ready to renew attacks against Iran.
"Let us be clear, a ceasefire is a pause, and the joint force remains ready, if ordered or called upon," Caine said.
Read: US, Iran Reach Ceasefire Deal After Last-Minute Diplomatic Push
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