Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 6, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 6, 2026
Hegseth says US has ‘only just begun to fight’ Iran: ‘Our munitions are full up, our will is ironclad’
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during the inaugural Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US Southern Command headquarters in Doral, Florida, on March 5, 2026. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP)
Speaking at US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, Pentagon chief Hegseth says the US is solely controlling the timeline of activities in Iran and will do so “as long as it takes to ensure the United States of America achieves” its objectives.
“We set the tempo,” he says. “We set the timeline led by the commander on the ground.”
Talking about US weapons stockpiles, Hegseth says “our munitions are full up and our will is ironclad.”
“We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively,” he tells reporters. “Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation.”
On Wednesday, Hegseth said the war could go as long as eight weeks, the longest timeline given by the Trump administration thus far.
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