As Iran retaliates, largest US military base in Middle East hit by ballistic missile, Qatar says

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the ongoing operation “our retribution” for Iran’s role in sponsoring terrorism, including roadside bombs used against troops during the Iraq War.

Iran’s “war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult,” he said. “It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.”

Hegseth said, “This is not a so-called ‘regime change’ war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference Monday, "We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it."

Hegseth said Iran was building "powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions," with "our bases, our people, our allies all in their crosshairs."

He said Iran "tried to lie their way to a nuclear bomb."

He said the U.S. "bent over backwards for diplomacy" but "Tehran was not negotiating," and stalled to rebuild their stockpiles.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said so far there’s "no indication that any of the nuclear installations ... have been damaged or hit" in Iran.

A fourth U.S. service member has been killed in action, CENTCOM said.

The fourth person, who was “seriously wounded” in the initial attacks this weekend, later died from their injuries, CENTCOM said.