Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared a “decisive military victory” over Iran in a live briefing, saying the country’s missile program was functionally destroyed. [Unfortunately, they still have some, though depleted, missiles and drones.] Secretary Hegseth accused Iran of using proxies to carry out its nefarious activities. “They struck our embassies with car bombs and attacked from the shadows, never daring to face us toe-to-toe.” “They thought they could bleed America with impunity.” “Well, they just learned the hard way what happens when you try to fight us directly.” And even when they got lucky, one time in 40 days, and downed two of our pilots, they couldn’t hold them. In a daring 14-hour rescue operation, seven hours in daylight and seven hours of night, both pilots were recovered safely. Not once, but twice!” Secretary Hegseth: BREAKING: SecWar Pete Hegseth CALLS OUT Iran as petulant COWARDS, hiding in Tehran for decades — but getting pummeled when it’s time to go toe-to-toe “For decades, Iran killed Americans with roadside bombs in Iraq, using COWARDLY proxies to do their DIRTY WORK while they hid… pic.twitter.com/vspXSTNKfo — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 8, 2026 President Trump on Tuesday said he agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, subject to the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, pointing to progress on a 10-point proposal from Tehran. The U.S. has halted all offensive operations in Iran, according to a senior U.S. official. However, Gen. Dan Caine warned Wednesday that the Pentagon is prepared to resume its military campaign against Iran if the cease-fire collapses and talks fail.>Iran signaled its intention to continue asserting influence over Hormuz, and some ships at anchor near the strait received radio messages from Iranian forces saying they needed Iran’s permission to cross the strait. Iran’s foreign minister said that passage through the strait will be possible “via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces.” Trump said the U.S. “will be helping with the traffic buildup” in the strait. On Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. will retrieve Iran’s enriched uranium buried under rubble. Iran said it wouldn’t enrich uranium in the future. Israel said it had halted attacks on Iran, but was continuing operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The post Secretary Hegseth Declares a “Decisive Military Victory” appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.