Iranian Assassination Squad's 'Attempt to Kill President Trump' Foiled After Leader 'Hunted Down and Killed', Hegseth Says

The U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed the public that an Iranian assassination squad had attempted to kill President Donald Trump.

During a Pentagon briefing on March 4, Hegseth said U.S. forces “hunted down and killed” the leader of the unit “without mercy” amid Operation Epic Fury.

During the 2024 presidential race, Trump’s campaign was warned by national security officials that Iran was targeting him and had several kill teams operating inside the United States. The threat was linked to the killing of Iranian military General Qasem Soleimani. The top Iranian commander — was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad in January 2020 ordered by Trump.

Tehran has denied the allegations.

“America is winning. This was never meant to be a fair fight. The Iranian Air Force is no more—built for 1996 and destroyed in 2026. The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. Four days in, and we have only just begun to fight," he said in a video message on X.

“The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed. Iran tried to kill President Trump. And President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth told reporters, according to The Mirror.

“They are toast and they know it. Or at least soon enough they will know it,” he said.

Hegseth said additional forces, including jet fighters and bombers, are expected to arrive in the area.

The U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed," Hegseth added.

The chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Dan Caine, said American forces have adequate munitions for ongoing operations against Iran. Hegseth added that the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign and is now moving toward gravity bombs. “The US has control of Iranian skies, and stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain extremely strong,” he said.

“We have pushed every counter-UAS system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability. Like I said, this does not mean we stop everything,” he said about drones.

Hegseth claimed a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship and that the March 3 strike was the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.

“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”

Several people were killed after the ship Iris Dena, returning from India after participating in the 2026 International Fleet, was reportedly attacked and sank off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

Caine announced that the military would “now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory”.