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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine Give Update on Iran War. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired March 31, 2026 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know from the emergency room physician, the skull was split open. Her brain was actually exposed, the skull of the brain.

And then there was the hole in the bushes on that trail. And there was the blood on the leaves. And there was blood on the area.

And that rock was there. So that's what took authorities to that to that actual location. But it's going to be a big week in this case.

And this is Honolulu, Hawaii. It is six hours earlier than New York. But we have it here because this testimony it's a domestic violence case.

It truly is that culminated into attempted murder. Life in prison is what he's facing.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And it's terrifying. It's also very unusual for someone to take the stand. So that will be a big development.

CASAREZ: And he's an anesthesiologist in Maui.

SIDNER: All right, Jean Casarez, thank you so much for watching all of it for us. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, right there, you're looking at live pictures from the Pentagon. We are standing by for a briefing there from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chair of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Caine.

That will begin any minute. We'll bring it to you the minute they walk in that door.

Now, it comes amid news that gas prices in the United States are now higher than $4 a gallon on average, the highest level of either Trump presidency, the highest level since 2022, breaking that $4 barrier.

And this morning, The Wall Street Journal reports that the president is considering ending the war without opening the Strait of Hormuz, which is part of the issue here of rising gas prices, choking off oil supply. The president seems to indicate in a new social media post this is Europe's problem.

He wrote, "Number one, buy from the United States. We have plenty. And number two, build up some delayed courage. Go to the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil shipping route, and just take it. Then he added, you'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself. The USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us."

A reminder, the Strait was open before the war before the U.S. and Israel took action. Now it is closed, and now the president seems to be saying it is not necessarily a problem for the United States. Let's get right to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, who is with us now, also a CNN political and global affairs analyst. And Barak, as they walk in here, what do you think the major question is for the defense secretary?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think I don't know if anybody will ask that question, but I think a lot of people want to hear answers from him on this Financial Times report about, you know, one of his associates making deals right before the war. I think that that is definitely something, while the Pentagon denied that Hegseth had any connection to that, I think this is something that, at least, I would want to hear from the Secretary of Defense.

BERMAN: Yes, we should note a Defense Department spokesman, Sean Parnell, is deflecting on that, and we obviously haven't confirmed it. And again, as we wait for the secretary to walk in here, the Wall Street Journal report that the president is considering ending the war without opening the strait, coupled with this social media post, which certainly doesn't deny it, and says it's Europe's problem. You know where would that leave things, Barak?

RAVID: Well, you know, it's hard to say. Donald Trump said it, I think, four times over the last week. It's not news.

He issued a post a week ago, or less than a week ago, saying, I'm considering winding down the war without opening the strait of Hormuz. It's not a secret. That's what the president thinks.

He said that several times. This morning, he said it again. Yesterday, he said it again.

That's his position. It doesn't mean that he made a decision to do it, but it's definitely something he's considering. And I think we saw this morning how frustrated he is by his European allies.

By the way, at the G7 meeting on Friday, Secretary of State Rubio told the U.S. European and Western allies that the U.S. doesn't need them to get involved in the strait of Hormuz at the moment, but only after the war is over, in some sort of a multinational task force to escort ships and secure the strait. So I think there's a lot of nuance between the president's posts and what his team is telling U.S. allies around the world.

BERMAN: Again, they could walk in at any moment. I think maybe they are right now. There he is. There's the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Barack, stand by for us. Let's listen in.

[08:05:00]

PETE HEGSETH, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit our troops fighting in Operation Epic Fury. We were in the ground -- or on the ground, excuse me, in CENTCOM on Saturday for about half the day. For reasons of operational security, so those troops are not targeted, the places and bases will not be named.

Suffice it to say, the trip was an honor. I had a chance to meet with the U.S. military. I had a chance to bear witness, and I witnessed the best of America. I witnessed warriors, a brotherhood of men and women warriors all, active duty guard and reserve, united in their love for each other, their shared purpose, and their commitment to the mission. I witnessed sheer competency.

I watched a private first class confidently calling out enemy missile trajectory to a room full of officers. Everyone focused. The room was locked in. Two enemy missiles successfully shot down.

I spoke to Air Force and Navy pilots on the flight line who every day both deliver bombs deep into Iran but also shoot down drones defending their base. Many had just returned from the skies of Iran and Tehran.

I put on a headset and spoke to one crew in the cockpit, locked and loaded each and every day. I witnessed ingenuity, American ingenuity. I met the young Army officer who figured out how to neutralize maneuvering enemy missiles, saving countless lives.

His commander confirmed that the whoops and cheers erupted in the Tactical Operations Center when his new approach was first successful. I met the Air Force intel analyst who refines target packages faster than the enemy can adapt. I actually gave him my card and told him to keep me posted on the ground truth.

I did the same with his boss, a colonel with a heart the size of Texas and a beautiful deployment mustache to match. I witnessed lethality. I met a junior airman as the sun was going down and a chill was setting on the tarmac, who when asked what they needed, she simply looked up at me with a sly smile on her face and said, more bombs, sir, and bigger bombs. We will happily oblige her.

I met the Army targeting team who found and sunk the pride and joy of the Iranian Navy, their fighting position plastered with images of sunken enemy ships, and I witnessed urgency. Right when we landed, another C-17 landed just minutes after us and within 30 seconds of the aircraft coming to a full stop, a team on the ground pulled up and the cargo was being uploaded. Wartime speed.

To a man and to a woman on the ground, in the air, on the flight line, and in the talk, I heard, we want everything faster, higher op tempo, wartime speed. The feeling was the exact opposite of the rotational units year after year in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we're so familiar with.

In those wars, it was always about the next rotation, never knowing when the mission would end or exactly what the mission was year after year. Not with Epic Fury. I witnessed urgency to finish the job, urgency to achieve mission success, not looking at the next rotation, only moving as fast as possible to win.

I got a chance to troop the line to witness firsthand what we already know is true. Spoke to all ranks and all services, none of whom knew we were coming. It was not rehearsed or scripted. Sometimes we just wandered.

What I witnessed was motivation. It was sheer mission focus. It was the American warrior unleashed.

It was the kind of war fighting American spirit that comes with a clear mission against a determined enemy. A crew chief we flew with summed it up nicely. He said, it's been a busy few weeks, sir. Tough stuff, but I'm so honored to be called up. This fight is long overdue.

We need to address it for our kids. We cannot pass the buck. Please thank the president from us.

I heard that time and time again. I asked each young American, what do you need? And nobody said better equipment.

[08:10:00]

Nobody said more comfortable living conditions. Nobody said, send me home. Well, of course, eventually we want all those things. They do too.

But what those Americans said to me, young and old officer and NCO, male and female, black and white was let's finish the mission. Get us even more bombs, bigger bombs, more targets. Let us finish this.

In fact, Admiral Cooper noted this morning that the three Air Force captains shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire early in the fight weeks ago. They never left the theater. All dropped bombs over Tehran last night.

These men and women live the Iranian threat every day, incoming missiles and drones and know what a world looks like, what the world would look like if Iran had the most dangerous weapons in the world, a nuclear weapon. As president Trump has said time and time again for years, and in this administration, Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and they won't.

These troops, they want to finish this fight for their kids and their grandkids. This is about history. This is about legacy. Success matters.

And because of this president and these Americans, we're closer than ever before to winning. President Trump is doing what no other president had the guts to do. Previous presidents were all talk. He's all action. On the battlefield because of the latitude the president has given us.

American firepower is only increasing. Iran's decreasing. We have more and more options and they have less.

Just one month in, only one month, we set the terms. The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it.

Yes, they will still shoot some missiles, but we will shoot them down. Of note, the last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran. They will go underground, but we will find them.

We recently destroyed another one of their command bunkers. Leaders forced to flee. No water, no power, no oxygen, no command and control. Their faith in their caves diminishing.

The latest intel is clear out of CENTCOM. Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages, and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders.

Just last night, we had 200 dynamic strikes alone. Dynamic strike is a strike where a pilot leaves and during their flight, they get a new target set based on real-time intel given to them. A new launcher, a new location, a new troop formation.

A dynamic target is one that changes while you're in the air because of improved intelligence. 200 dynamic strikes alone in addition to the pre-planned targets.

The video the president posted last night of Esfahan, an ammo depot struck by U.S. bombers. You see, you don't get to see many of those videos because, as a reminder, Iran has still shut off the internet to 99.9 percent of its population.

But if Iran is wise, they will cut a deal. President Trump doesn't bluff and he does not back down. You can ask Khamenei about that. The new Iranian regime should know that by now. This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last.

President Trump will make a deal. He is willing. And the terms of the deal are known to them. If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity.

Standing here this morning in this briefing room, in my mind's eye, I'm actually looking out at the groups I met this weekend. The pilots, the logisticians, the intel analysts, the targeters, the sustainers, the flight crews, the air defenders, the base security, those maintainers who we walked up at sunset with the chill in the air on the flight line.

May God watch over all of them each day and each night. May his almighty and eternal arms of providence stretch over them and protect them and bring them peace in the name of Jesus Christ. And amen.

Mr. Chairman, over to you.

GEN. DAN CAINE, JOIN CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Good morning, everyone. And thank you again for being here.

[08:15:00]

As operations continue, I remain deeply grateful for the service and determination of 2.8 million members of our joint force, each of whom are serving something greater than themselves. Every day, those deployed and, in many cases, those at home who are deploying forward and bomber pulses and others put themselves in harm's way. And we owe them a deep debt of gratitude.

I remain especially grateful for our fallen who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We'll never forget their valor and their determination to do something greater than themselves. And each day we continue to earn what they've given to us.

This morning, I want to share that yesterday, the joint force had the honor of participating in the burial of Colonel Clarence Emil "Bud" Anderson, who passed away in May of 2024 at the ripe old age of 102. He was laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery yesterday morning alongside his wife of 70 years, Eleanor, who he married on February 23rd, 1945. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 92.

Bud yesterday, a legend to our Air Force and fighter pilots everywhere, was honored with a combination flyby of F-35s and a four ship of P-51 Mustangs. He was one of the most prolific flying aces of World War II and the highest scoring P-51 ace with 16 and a quarter kills in his squadron and in his group.

And he served from 1942 to 1972. And his last combat tour was flying F-104 Thunderchiefs over North Vietnam. For anyone that had the chance to meet Colonel Anderson, you knew what an incredibly special man he was.

And that's true for each and every one of our World War II vets who become fewer and fewer with each passing day. They are the greatest generation and give us the gift of an incredible example as we execute Operation Epic Fury today. And Colonel Anderson, we mourn for your loss and remember that smile on the right side as you went out to do our nation's business.

I'd like to now share an operational update. Our Joint Force continues to focus on our military objectives as we systematically continue to degrade and destroy Iran's ability to project power and threaten stability beyond its borders. First, the Joint Force continues to destroy Iran's ballistic missile and UAS capabilities.

We remain focused on interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed these programs. And this remains a truly joint effort prosecuted around the clock from air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. Long-range bombers from U.S. Strategic Commander coordinating with tactical fighter aircraft from our Joint Force launched from bases around the region and the continental United States, while simultaneously Navy fighters from the sea and sailors continue to project power from the sea, while Army and Marine artillery units continue to execute long-range precision fires deep into enemy territory against high-value targets. Meanwhile, on the defense side, our Army and air defenders and aviators, as the Secretary talked about, remain vigilant, forming a shield to protect our forces and our partners intercepting missiles and drones.

Together, we continue to deliver precision strikes against key manufacturing nodes, component storage sites, research facilities deep within Iranian territory. And over the past 29 -- I'm sorry, 30 days, we've struck more than 11,000 targets. Given the increase in air superiority, we've successfully started to conduct the first overland B-52 missions, which allow us, as we've said before, to continue to get on top of the enemy and, as the Secretary talked about, switch towards more and more dynamic targets, servicing mobile targets around the battle space.

We've continued to do the work against Iran's missile, drone, and naval production facilities, and we continue the multi-domain pressure that we've talked about. Second, on the Navy front, we continue to assert dominance over the Iranian Navy. We remain focused on targeting their mine-laying capability, their naval assets, and we've now, as I mentioned briefly last time, started to work attack helicopters and other close air support assets into the naval domain.

CENTCOM continues to identify and work against naval depots and storage areas, and we've taken out, again, more than 150 ships, including all Jamaran-class frigates inside their Navy. Third, we continue to prosecute our campaign against their defense industrial base at scale. This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons research and development labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability.

[08:20:00]

I'd like to continue my theme of highlighting the incredible contributions of Americans to our joint force.

Today, I want to talk a little bit about a different front line, a line that doesn't have bunkers or guard posts, but is just as critical to our nation's security, our national assembly lines. Today, I want to recognize a group of Americans who live at the beginning of our nation's combat power, the Americans who actually make our weapons, both inside our defense industrial base, but even more broadly, inside our national industrial base. In every military option, we could not and cannot do our jobs without the men and women across our country who show up every day around the clock to a factory floor, a workshop, a laboratory, who build the weapons and capabilities we need to project American combat power at the time and place of our choosing.

These great Americans, and I've had a chance to spend some time with them when I was in the private sector, are the core of American combat power. They're the machinists running high-tech CNC machines, cutting raw blocks of metal into incredibly precise parts. They're the assembly workers painstakingly taking a kit of parts and turning that into a complex guidance system, or precision munition, or a rocket motor, or building a jet or submarine, or they're quality assurance technicians who ensure that when a warfighter pulls a trigger, the weapon works every time. This can be and is tough and gritty work. It's not a quiet office and a desk with paper, and there's nothing wrong with that, but this is exactly the way this group of Americans likes it. I know this.

I've seen it myself, and I remain deeply honored by that gift. It's often loud and dangerous work, demanding, that requires absolute focus for hours at a time, with deep commitment to get it right every single time. It's hands-on work where one uncaught mistake or deviation can put an American's life at risk.

A single misplaced wire, a microscopic flaw in a weld, incorrectly calibrated sensor could mean the difference between mission success or mission failure. A difference is measured in the lives of our sons and daughters who we put out around the field and on the field of battle. We rely on and trust in these great Americans, and it's not just their manufacturing skill, it's their innovative minds and their entrepreneurial spirit.

From those who build exquisite capabilities down to the mom and pop machine shops all over this great country, they live at the beginning of and the core of America's combat capability, constantly adapting, constantly improving, constantly learning. And there are examples of this throughout history and current days, to include building things like the F-117 stealth fighter, the B-2 stealth bomber, making our combat capability undetectable over the enemy, to today's B-21 and F- 47. It's work in the shipyards of the east coast and northeast side of the United States that go out and build America's nuclear submarines that allow us to patrol around the world at the time and place of our choosing.

These innovators, these workers, these incredible Americans don't get the same glory as a fighter pilot returning to a carrier deck at night or an artilleryman sending rounds downrange, and yet they show up every single day. And without them, we could not do the work that we are tasked to do. 24-7, they build the tools that we need to do our business.

The skill, the commitment, the patriotism, the dedication poured into every piece of combat capability and hardware is seen and felt out at the edge of the force. As the Secretary talked about, those young bomb builders out in the desert that he had the chance to see. You can see it, you can feel it, and it's real, and we're deeply grateful.

So to the American workforce out there, both inside our defense industrial base and in our national industrial base, thank you on behalf of the Joint Force. We carry the weapons that you build, we rely on the systems that you create, and the distance from that factory floor and that assembly line to the front line is incredibly short. Thank you, keep it up. And to our adversaries out there, I remind you to beware of the American workforce.

We continue to press forward in our military objectives. The Secretary and I remain deeply humbled by the spirit, tenacity, commitment, and grit of our 2.8 million member strong joint force.

[08:25:00] I want to, as always, thank the force and their families, and as always, remember our fallen. We carry with them and their names every day.

Sir, I'll turn it back over to you.

HEGSETH: Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Two things. He didn't note it, but in memory of Colonel Bud Anderson, the chairman himself flew his F-16 to honor him recently.

And thank you for highlighting the Defense Industrial Base, the Arsenal of Freedom. It's worth noting no one has rebuilt that Defense Industrial Base faster and with more purpose than President Trump in his first term, and now we're rebuilding the Arsenal of Freedom. Our Defense Industrial Base is more vibrant today than it's been since World War II and growing rapidly.

Contrast that with Iran, whose Defense Industrial Base is nearly completely destroyed. Their ability to reconstitute the weapons of war they're using now that they're hiding in underground facilities and attriting over time, their ability to rebuild that is negligible. And I think that contrast is an enduring legacy of this as well.

Right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've had some signaling that the U.S. will retake control of the Strait of Hormuz. At that point, what military posture will be imposed to guarantee safe passage for our allies, deter our enemies, and demonstrate U.S. dominance in the region? And also, can you speak to how much America's adversaries, Russia, China, North Korea, how much they're supporting Iran's war machine at this point with arms and intelligence and what we are militarily doing to punish the enemy coalition?

HEGSETH: Appreciate both questions. On the Strait of Hormuz, there are many more vessels flowing through today than there were as the President has arranged. The President's been clear to Iran, open it for business or we have options and we certainly do.

And when you look at what the Chairman laid out with the Navy, with the Navy Industrial Base, with coastal cruise missiles, with UAVs, with counter mine capabilities, we've been focused from the beginning on attriting and defeating those capabilities and limiting their options. There's lots we're doing as well, some of which is known, some of which is not known to set the conditions. And I think the President was clear this morning in his truth that there are countries around the world who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well.

It's not just the United States Navy. Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well. So he's pointing out this is an international waterway that we use less than most, in fact, dramatically less than most.

So the world ought pay attention to be prepared to stand up. President Trump's been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of Iran. It's not just our problem set going forward, even though we have done the lion's share of preparation to ensure that that strait will be open, which is an outcome the President's been very clear on.

As far as Russia and China, we know exactly what they're doing, what they are or are not doing. We don't have to air publicly what all of that is, but where necessary, we're addressing it, we're mitigating it, or we're confronting it head on. I don't know if you have anything you want to add.

CAINE: No, sir. I think you covered it.

HEGSETH: Now over here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a timeline for operability in the strait?

DAVID ZERE, REAL AMERICA'S VOICE: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. David Zere, Real America's Voice. And I witnessed that enthusiasm on the lines in our submarine builders and our ironworks. It's unbelievable.

But I just wanted to ask you, what's the status of the delivery of any hardened bunkers for additional protection for our troops? And without getting too specific, what kind of measures are we taking to protect some of the larger, more strategic aircraft like a Sentry and others?

HEGSETH: Well, it's a great question. I'll say what I witnessed where I went was a completely locked-in discipline of bunker use and bunker improvement. So from the beginning, as we stated very clearly, the first thing we did was set up a defense and make sure our defensive capabilities were maxed out before any of this even started.

That included fortifications as much as possible. But it also included disbursement. If all of our people are in one place, you can imagine why that's a big problem.

So dispersing is part of that defeat. Alongside that, disbursement is more and more bunkers. And I can tell you, talking to base commanders, talking to our allies in Israel, talking to others, rapidly fielding that and then improving those positions is a theater of priority, no doubt, as are the air defenses.

And the layered air defenses. It's not just patriots and THAADs. It's fighters and defensive caps.

It's other kinetic defeat systems. It's electronic warfare. So the defense of our troops and our assets is maxed.

I will say on some of those other assets you talked about, air wings, airframes, there's some things adversaries are doing to provide info and intel that they shouldn't. We're aware of it. And ultimately, we move things around and don't -- one of the biggest principles you learn in the military is to not set patterns, predictable patterns.

And so commanders are working hard to adjust in real time with those systems and make sure they're in the right places and not easily targetable. Jillian.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Mr. Secretary.

[08:30:00]