{"id":7253,"date":"2026-03-15T07:43:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T07:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/irans-defense-industrial-base-is-functionally-defeated-hegseth\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T07:43:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T07:43:57","slug":"irans-defense-industrial-base-is-functionally-defeated-hegseth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/irans-defense-industrial-base-is-functionally-defeated-hegseth\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s defense industrial base is \u2018functionally defeated\u2019: Hegseth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fourteen days into the war on Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared the country\u2019s ability to develop and manufacture new weapons \u201cfunctionally defeated,\u201d noting as well its shrinking missile force, navy \u201cat the bottom of the Persian Gulf,\u201d and disabled air force.<\/p>\n

Missile attacks are down 90 percent and one-way attack drone strikes are down 95 percent since the first day of Iranian retaliation, Hegseth added in the latest update to the Pentagon metric.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we’re shooting down and destroying what missiles they still have in stock, but more importantly, ensuring that they have no ability to make more\u2014their production lines, their military plants, their defense innovation centers, defeated,\u201d he said at a Pentagon press briefing.<\/p>\n

The U.S. is continuing to strike factories and munitions warehouses, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the briefing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After comparing Iran\u2019s remaining leaders to rats and questioning why its new leader issued his first statement in writing rather than on camera, Hegseth turned his ire upon the defense press.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of this crew in the press just can’t stop. Allow me to make a few suggestions,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople look up at the TV and they see banners. They see headlines. I used to be in that business, and I know that everything is written intentionally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hegseth worked for a decade for Fox, which in 2023 paid\u00a0$787 million\u00a0after it was sued for promoting lies.<\/p>\n

At the press briefing, he criticized CNN for reporting that the administration underestimated how badly the war would affect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do: hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report,\u201d Hegseth before making reference to CNN\u2019s upcoming merger with Paramount, a media company seen as favorable toward the Trump administration. \u201cThe sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked why the U.S. Navy isn\u2019t escorting commercial ships through the strait, Hegseth said, \u201cWe want to do it, eventually, in a way that makes the most sense for what we want to achieve, and ensure that we’re sending the right signal to the world when we do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later said there\u2019s no evidence that Iran is still placing mines in the strait.<\/p>\n

The secretary then acknowledged the deaths of four aircrew aboard the KC-135 tanker that crashed in Iraq on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBad things can happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Caine began his remarks with a tribute to the airmen, confirming four had been recovered and there is an active rescue mission to locate the other two members of the tanker\u2019s crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease keep these brave airmen, their families, friends and units in your thoughts,\u201d Caine said. \u201cIn the coming hours and days, our service members make an incredible sacrifice to go forward and do the things that the nation asks of them.”\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n