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Another takeaway from today is that Hegseth says the U.S. Killed an Iranian official who allegedly headed a unit to carry out an assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed. Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh," Hegseth said.

Hegseth didn't name the official, but said the operation took place yesterday.

Of course, the joint U.S.-Israel operation in Iran brought the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday. 

Hegseth said the U.S. Will continue to target Khamenei's potential successors — something Israel has also threatened.

Hegseth and Caine are done with their presser now. But there were several takeaways.

A big one was that Hegseth confirmed it was a U.S. Submarine that sank the Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka — with Caine calling it the first such strike since 1945. 

"I want to remind everybody that this is an incredible demonstration of America's global reach. To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale," Caine said.

Caine also confirmed that the U.S. Mission will now expand inland. 

Hi, I'm David Common, reporting from Tel Aviv.

During this morning's news conference, Gen. Caine said the United States will control Iranian skies within days. That means the U.S. Can fly their own planes over all of Iran without the risk of being shot down. To do that, they are confident of being able to destroy all of Iran's anti-aircraft weapons.

That shifts from the current situation, where American and Israeli operations can only fly planes over southern Iran.

They have been using what are called "stand-off weapons," or munitions fired from far enough away that the adversarial force doesn't have the reach to shoot back. Fighter planes, ships, submarines and land-based units are firing missiles far from their targets.

Once they control the skies, they can use "stand-in weapons," which are cheaper and more plentiful. They allow planes to drop weapons directly on a target, often using gravity.

Reporters have asked Hegseth about those who've voiced disagreement with Operation Epic Fury. 

China and Russia, for example, have raised concerns about the U.S. And Israel attacks on Iran. 

"I don't have a message for them, and they're not a factor here. Our issues aren't with them," Hegseth said. 

Another reporter also asked Hegseth about Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' comments that this operation will result in "failure" — yet another signal of the intense political division in the U.S. Right now.

"I've been through that movie before, with the Democrats rooting against our country," Hegseth replied.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, joined Hegseth to provide a more technical update on the ongoing conflict. 

Caine and Hegseth maintain that the U.S. Has been precise in its attacks, as opposed to Iran. Caine accused Iran of being indiscriminate in its attacks. 

Caine and Hegseth confirmed they will be investigating a strike that hit an Iranian girls' school, allegedly killing at least 153 people. Iran has blamed the U.S. And Israel for the attack in Minab, in the country's south.

Caine also said that there's been a decrease in the missiles and drones fired by Iran. "We're 100 hours in, it's still very early," Caine said. 

Caine said shots fired by Iran's ballistic missiles are down 86 per cent from the first day of fighting, with a 23 per cent decrease "just in the last 24 hours."

Iran's one-way attack drone strikes are down 73 per cent from the opening days, he said.

A big takeaway here is that Hegseth and Caine continue to reiterate the U.S.'s success so far.

U.S. President Donald Trump has received some criticism for launching attacks on Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks. Seemingly replying to those concerns, Hegseth told reporters that Trump had told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that "Iran negotiated in bad faith."

The two leaders met at the White House yesterday.

Hegseth also said that the U.S. Ramped up its defence and moved the "vast majority" of American troops out of range of Iranian fire — an update that comes amid news of the death of six U.S. Service members. 

Hegseth is emphasizing U.S. Military strength, using several one-liners to drive his point home.

"This was never meant to be a fair fight and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them when they are down," Hegseth said. 

One of the main takeaways is that there is no end in sight for Iran. 

"Iranian leaders, looking up and seeing only U.S. And Israeli air power every minute of every day, until we decide it's over," Hegseth said. "Iran won't be able to do anything about it."

Hegseth also listed off U.S. And Israeli successes, claiming that the Iranian navy has been decimated. He said the U.S. Controls Iranian airspace and waterways, and that the U.S. Will "avenge" the deaths of the six American service members who were killed. 

"The terms will be set by us at every step," Hegseth said of the ongoing war.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is giving an update right now. So far, he's been reiterating America's (and Israel's) strength.

"We're only four days into this," he said. "America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy."

Earlier this morning, we reported that Sri Lankan authorities confirmed they had saved 32 people on board a sinking Iranian ship.

That warship, identified as IRIS Dena, has since sunk, and Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that they had recovered several bodies from the sea as well. 

Those rescued are now receiving treatment at a state-run hospital in Sri Lanka. 

It's still unclear who attacked the ship, but Sri Lankan forces say they will investigate the incident once the rescue mission has ended. 

"We warn all parties to refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation of conflict in the region. In this context, we will continue to consult with NATO and our other allies," the ministry said.  A reminder that Turkey is a NATO member. 

According to reports, Turkey's foreign minister spoke with his counterpart in Iran to voice protest against the downed missile and urged Iran to avoid widening the conflict. 

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