Pentagon Releases Footage Of Strikes As U.S. Campaign Against Iran Intensifies

The Department of War has unveiled the first official images and video footage documenting U.S. military strikes against Iran, as Operation Epic Fury enters its third day. The high-stakes campaign targeting Tehran’s military infrastructure has already cost the lives of four American service members, with more than a dozen others wounded in action.

The visuals, released publicly for the first time, show coordinated strikes aimed at dismantling Iran’s missile systems and degrading its naval capabilities. The operation comes amid escalating hostilities across the region, with casualties mounting on both sides.

Speaking early Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made clear that the mission is narrowly defined and strategically focused.

“Destroy Iranian missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure and they will never have nuclear weapons,” Hegseth said, standing alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.

Unlike the protracted nation-building efforts of past administrations, Hegseth emphasized that President Donald J. Trump — the current President of the United States — has no intention of dragging America into another endless Middle Eastern entanglement.

“This is not Iraq,” Hegseth said. “This is not endless. I was there for both — our generation knows better, and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation-building wars dumb and he’s right. This is the opposite. This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission: Destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes.”

Hegseth confirmed that there are currently no U.S. “boots on the ground” inside Iran but declined to speculate on future military options, reinforcing the administration’s strategic ambiguity.

Gen. Caine noted that a comprehensive battle damage assessment will take time.

“It will take some time for us to conduct a battle damage assessment, and the targeting that CENTCOM will run will take those things into effect,” Caine said.

According to Israeli authorities, at least 11 people have been killed in Israel amid retaliatory attacks. Meanwhile, the Iranian Red Crescent claims 555 fatalities inside Iran — figures that remain difficult to independently verify amid wartime conditions.

Hegseth squarely blamed Tehran for the escalation, citing both its nuclear ambitions and its destabilizing actions across global shipping routes.

“Iran had a conventional gun to our head as they tried to lie their way to a nuclear bomb,” Hegseth said during a Monday morning briefing.

Video footage of the strikes was shared publicly by U.S. Central Command:

As the military campaign unfolds, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled that the global order itself is shifting. Following the joint U.S.–Israeli operation, Rubio urged America’s allies to recognize the strategic realities of a new geopolitical era.

“The world is changing very fast right in front of us,” Rubio said. “The old world is gone, frankly, the world I grew up in, and we live in a new era of geopolitics, and it’s gonna require all of us to sort of reexamine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.”

He continued, “We’ve had many of these conversations in private with many of our allies. We need to continue to have those conversations.”

Back in Washington, questions quickly arose from critics about congressional authorization. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded Saturday by clarifying that proper notification protocols were followed before the strikes commenced.

“President Trump monitored the situation overnight at Mar a Lago alongside members of his national security team. The President spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone,” Leavitt wrote.

“Prior to the attacks, Secretary Rubio called all members of the gang of eight to provide congressional notification, and he was able to reach and brief seven of the eight members,” she added.

“The President and his national security team will continue to closely monitor the situation throughout the day.”

The so-called “Gang of Eight” — comprised of congressional leadership and senior intelligence committee members — is traditionally notified under the 1947 National Security Act when sensitive intelligence operations are undertaken. While the statute requires Congress to be kept “fully informed,” administrations of both parties have long maintained that notifying this select group fulfills the legal obligation.

Whether President Trump remains at Mar-a-Lago or returns to Washington in the coming days remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that the administration is framing this operation not as a war of occupation — but as a targeted, constitutional exercise of American power designed to eliminate a direct nuclear threat and restore deterrence.