Trump says Pete Hegseth ‘knocked the hell’ out of Iran as Pentagon chief extends Mideast troop deployments into 2027

Donald Trump praised Pete Hegseth over the most recent strikes on Iran, as the Pentagon chief began extending troop deployments, suggesting the war could continue into 2027. 

The US unleashed around a dozen strikes on Iranian radar systems and military assets along a 300-mile stretch of the coast of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. 

Iranian media reported that an American missile tore through a wedding party, killing at least four civilians, including two women and two children. 

Despite Hegseth being under fire in recent weeks and the departure of the Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, Trump appeared to relish in his work, praising him in a speech in the White House Rose Garden Wednesday.

‘You did a good job in Iran last night, by the way. You knocked the hell out of them,’ he said to applause. 

‘We’re winning that one very big by the way, in case you didn’t notice. We have to say it because the press hates to say it,’ he added, though he noted the New York Times said that Iran is ‘not looking too good.’ 

‘They don’t have any aircraft, anything having to do with aircraft or ships. They’re all at the bottom of the sea or at the bottom of a runway,’ Trump said of Tehran, adding that the country’s technology and weapons are decimated.

The war, however, could be going on a little while longer after the Pentagon began extending troop deployments overseas at Hegseth’s request, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The military is planning to keep 50,000 soldiers in the area to help with missions that involve intercepting missiles and protecting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. 

But the Pentagon has already received criticism for US troops having to spend a long period of time on deployment.

The USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday docked at a Thai resort town following an extended deployment of more than 250 days, in which servicemen faced grueling conditions.

The Navy aircraft carrier stopped in the resort city of Pattaya, where the 5,000 sailors and Marines on board will have the chance to unwind before heading back to the United States.

Sources told WSJ that the strategy gives Trump options going forward with Iran but does potentially create further strain on American soldiers and their families. 

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment to WSJ but said they provide Trump with options. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pentagon, US Central Command and the White House for comment. 

As Tehran continues to hit back, Trump has discussed a plan to declare the war over with senior aides.

He reportedly believes that the economic sanctions he’s placed on Iran will force them to finally shut down its nuclear program. 

Amid speculation about his next move, ABC News suggested Tuesday Trump was trying to make Tehran restart peace negotiations. Trump dismissed the idea in a Truth Social post.

‘I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,’ he wrote. 

‘I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable.’

Trump then issued a missive to the Iranian people to take down their repressive regime. 

‘When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?’

Iranian state media reported strikes on the country’s oil-rich Qeshm Island. Explosions were also reported in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar. 

Iran retaliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming that it had launched a ballistic missile strike on Camp Titin, a US Marine base in Jordan. There was no immediate confirmation from the Pentagon.

The latest exchange comes after Iranian strikes over the weekend on US bases in Jordan, with US Central Command stating it is ‘hitting back hard’ against the regime. 

Trump warned Iran against responding to the latest attack: ‘If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!’ 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime’s hardline military force, attacked two commercial vessels attempting to transit the strait late Monday night. 

The latest strikes come despite Trump repeatedly claiming Iran’s military had been destroyed and the war was over, raising questions about why the US is still targeting its radar and military assets months later.

The US and Iran signed a 14-point ceasefire back in June that had been mediated by Pakistan. Both sides were given 60 days to negotiate an end to the war. 

Fighting restarted within weeks, and the deal ran out on August 17 with nothing to replace it.

There are no talks going on now. Trump has said none are planned as refuses to extend the ceasefire. 

The White House is demanding that Iran surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium and dismantle its nuclear program. Tehran has refused to make concessions unless the US lifts its naval blockade and allows Iran to control the strait.

‘They’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,’ he said in the Oval Office back in August after the ceasefire ended.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday the US would ‘economically asphyxiate this regime’ until it wants a deal. 

Trump followed-up by vowing to launch a new ‘economic D-Day’ on Iran unless they agree to dismantle their nuclear program. 

Six months in, neither side has budged despite repeated US and Israeli strikes.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis ripped Hegseth as ‘inept’ amid leadership turmoil at the Pentagon.

Tillis dropped the dig in a lengthy tweet calling for President Trump to replace Hegseth following the resignation of Driscoll, who clashed with the Pentagon chief over his tenure.

He said that Hegseth did not have ‘ the same priorities and forward-thinking’ as Driscoll and was instead losing ‘talented leaders,’ creating a ‘void at the top of our military ranks.’

Tillis then accused Hegseth of ‘ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force,’ making two allusions to alcohol.

‘I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,’ he said of Hegseth, whom Tillis added is ‘intimidated by competence.’

Tillis also urged Trump to ‘find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.’ 

Driscoll said his last full day as US Army secretary was Wednesday, but his social media post offered no explanation for why he is stepping down after 18 months as the service’s civilian leader.

Tensions between Driscoll and Hegseth have been widely reported, and some of Driscoll’s allies in the Army were ousted this year by Trump’s Pentagon chief.

Driscoll spoke with Trump on the current state of the military before he submitted his resignation this week.

The Washington Post reported that Trump encouraged Driscoll to stay at least through the midterms.

The secretary met with Trump last week and unloaded his concerns about how the Secretary of Defense is managing the Army, The Atlantic reported. 

Hegseth has purged more than a dozen senior officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse