Hegseth to Israel:

To our steadfast partner, Israel: your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination.

Fighting shoulder to shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force multiplier and a breath of fresh air.

Hegseth on Iran:

Yesterday in the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters.

Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.

Hegseth on Iran:

Four days in, we have only just begun to fight.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

Iran’s ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours.

Their one-way attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory.

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

We have destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels.

Hegseth on Iran:

We've known for a long time that Iran had intentions of trying to kill Trump and other U.S. officials.

While that was not the focus of the effort—in fact, it was never raised by the President—I ensured, and others ensured, that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list.

Hegseth on Türkiye:

We are aware of that particular engagement, although there is no sense that it would trigger anything like Article 5.

Hegseth on Iran:

We, of course, never target civilian targets.

We are investigating the school attack.

Hegseth on Iran:

None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force.

Hegseth calls Witkoff and Kushner the "best negotiators in the world."

Reporter: What is your message to Iran’s allies, namely Russia and China?

Hegseth: They are not really a factor here.

Reporter: Are any so-called fully autonomous weapons or other AI tools being used in Operation Epic Fury?

Hegseth: We've got a lot of autonomous systems, drones and others, incorporated with smart AI aspects to them, but a lot of which I can't talk about here.

Hegseth on Iran:

Iran cannot outlast us... we set the tone and the tempo of this fight.

Hegseth on Iran:

The only limits we have in this is Trump's desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people.

You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three.

Hegseth on Iran:

Our defense is getting better, and their offense capabilities are diminishing.

UPDATE: Sri Lanka says a U.S. submarine strike on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean killed at least 80 people.

WATCH: The moment a U.S. submarine torpedoed the Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Dana off the coast of Sri Lanka yesterday.

China Condemns US-Israel Strikes on Iran, Calls for an Immediate End

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israel to halt attacks on Iran during a Tuesday call with Israeli FM Gideon Saar, warning the military action risks escalation after nuclear negotiations had made significant progress.

READ MORE