Trump Admin Will Go ‘As Far as Needed’ to Topple Iran’s Regime, Hegseth Says

As Operation Epic Fury continues in Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has discussed the possibility of sending American troops for ground combat. Hegseth said the Trump administration is willing to take broad measures to push for a change in Iran's government.

Hegseth said in an interview with CBS News, “We’re willing to go as far as we need in order to be successful. We reserve the right. We would be completely unwise if we did not reserve the right to take any particular option, whether it included boots on the ground or not boots on the ground.”

Hegseth added that even if President Donald Trump decided to deploy ground troops, the administration would not disclose such plans for strategic reasons. “People ask, ‘boots on the ground, no boots on the ground, four weeks, two weeks, six weeks? Go in, go in. President Trump knows – I know – you don’t tell the enemy, you don’t tell the press, you don’t tell anybody what your limits would be on an operation,” Hegseth said.

The defense secretary's comments comes at a time when the death toll in the operation rises. Seven U.S. service members have died in the mission since its inception on February 28. Six of these soldiers passed away in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1.

The seventh member was seriously injured during an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia, and succumbed to his injuries on March 7. Hegseth’s statement is in line with Trump’s earlier remarks. Shortly after the operation began, Trump said he would not rule out sending U.S. troops to fight on-ground in Tehran.

Trump told The New York Post, “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it. I say, ‘probably don’t need them’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”

U.S. troops have not been sent to Iran so far, and the conflict has primarily involved air and missile strikes. Meanwhile, Iran has announced that Mojtaba Khamenei will be succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader of the country. The decision was made over a week after the Ayatollah’s assassination by the U.S. and Israel strikes.

Trump previously stated that only Iran’s unconditional surrender would end the war. When asked what he means by unconditional, Trump gave a vague reply and told The Guardian, “I said unconditional. It’s where they cry uncle or when they can’t fight any longer, and there’s nobody around to cry uncle — that could happen too.”

However, Iran has refused to surrender. Instead, the regime is retaliating by striking U.S. bases in the Gulf nations and by launching ballistic missiles at Israel. More than 1200 people have died in Iran since the operation began. These include members of the leadership and the Supreme Leader’s family.