WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) – U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered a stark assessment of Iran’s military position Wednesday, likening the regime’s current disarray to a football team that has exhausted its scripted plays and is now overwhelmed by an unrelenting defensive blitz.

In remarks during a Pentagon briefing on Operation Epic Fury — the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran now in its early days — Hegseth described Iran’s senior leadership as effectively neutralized.

“I liken Iran’s predicament to a football team who scripted the first 20 plays of the game,” Hegseth said. “The team knew what plays to run because their first few drives were scripted. But now that the game has started and the blitz is on, they don’t know what plays to call, let alone how to get in the huddle and call those plays.”

He continued: “Iran’s senior leaders are dead. The so-called governing council that might have selected a successor, dead, missing, or cowering in bunkers, too terrified to even occupy the same room. Senior generals, mid-level officers, enlisted ranks, they can’t talk or communicate, let alone mount a coordinated and sustained offensive. That’s not great for morale.”

Hegseth asserted that Iran’s air force, which he said was “built for 1996,” has been “destroyed in 2026,” while the navy lies “at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,” rendering it “combat ineffective, decimated, destroyed, defeated.”

The comments came amid escalating U.S. and Israeli strikes under Operation Epic Fury, which Hegseth has repeatedly described as a decisive effort to dismantle Iran’s capabilities. He emphasized that the campaign is far from over.

“We have ONLY JUST BEGUN to fight!” Hegseth declared. “If you think you’ve seen something? JUST WAIT. The combat power STILL flowing that we can project over Iran is MULTIPLES of what we have right now.”

Hegseth’s briefing followed reports of U.S. forces achieving significant dominance, including uncontested airspace over parts of Iran and the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine — the first such torpedo sinking of an enemy vessel since World War II.

The operation, launched in late February amid heightened tensions, has drawn international attention as the U.S. and Israel press their offensive against Iranian military and nuclear-related targets. Hegseth has maintained that the U.S. is “winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy,” and that additional forces continue to flow into the region.

No immediate response was available from Iranian officials to Hegseth’s characterizations. The conflict has raised concerns over civilian casualties and potential escalation in the Middle East.