Iran leader who plotted Trump assassination killed, Hegseth says as US unveils devastating new bomber strategy

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has claimed that an Iranian leader who plotted to assassinate Donald Trump had been killed as he announced the US has taken total control of the skies and will now start dropping massive gravity bombs.

Hegseth said ‘the leader of the unit that attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,’ at a press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday. He did not identify the leader or specify the plot against Donald Trump.

Trump has claimed that he authorized the US-Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday because intelligence showed that Iran was targeting him.

‘Four days in we have only just begun,’ Hegseth said. ‘Now with complete control of the skies, we will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile.’

Hegseth said that at the start of the war the US was using ‘exquisite standoff munitions,’ sophisticated, long-range weapons that allow strikes from distances great enough to remain outside the reach of enemy defenses. 

The Defense Secretary said these munitions were no longer needed but ‘our stockpile of those remains extremely strong,’ hitting back at reports that supplies are stretched.

While standoff munitions like Tomahawk missiles can cost upwards of $2 million apiece, gravity bombs deliver a similar punch for a fraction of the price at roughly $25,000 per unit, though they require total air superiority to be flown within range. 

Hegseth asserted that Iran is running low on missiles, saying the volume now in enemy hands was ‘not even close’ to the outset of the conflict on Saturday.