Washington, March 4
The United States on Wednesday brushed aside calls from China and Russia for an end to hostilities in the ongoing war with Iran, saying the conflict is focused solely on Tehran's nuclear ambitions and military capabilities.
Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the United States is not engaging with Beijing or Moscow on the issue and that they are not central to the current conflict.
"I don't have a message for them, and they're not really a factor here," Hegseth said when asked about Russia and China calling for an immediate end to hostilities.
"Our issue is not with them. It's with the nuclear ambitions of Iran," he said.
The remarks came as the U.S. military continued its fourth day of operations under Operation Epic Fury, a large-scale campaign targeting Iran's missile systems, naval assets, and military infrastructure.
U.S. officials say the campaign was launched after intelligence assessments concluded that Tehran was not negotiating in good faith over its nuclear programme.
"The evidence in front of us since the 12-day war was that Iran had no intention of actually negotiating a nuclear deal that truly meant they did not have a pathway to a nuclear bomb," Hegseth said.
He said Washington believes Iran has continued to pursue nuclear weapons capabilities while maintaining a large missile arsenal.
"They have thousands of missiles pointed at us," he said.
According to the Pentagon, the military campaign is designed to eliminate Iran's ability to threaten U.S. forces, regional partners and international shipping lanes.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine said the operation has already struck thousands of targets inside Iran.
"To date, we've hit over 2,000 targets," Caine said.
He said the campaign has also sharply reduced Iranian missile launches.
"Iran's theatre ballistic missile shots fired are down 86 per cent from the first day of fighting," he said.
U.S. officials say the operation is focused on dismantling Iran's ability to project power beyond its borders.
"The operation was launched with clear military objectives designed to dismantle Iran's ability to project power outside of its borders both today and in the future," Caine said.
The Pentagon also said several Middle Eastern countries are helping defend against Iranian missile and drone attacks, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan.
Despite the early battlefield gains, U.S. officials warned that the war remains in its early stages.
"We're 100 hours in. It's still very early," Caine said.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated sharply in recent months, with the United States accusing Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and supporting attacks against American forces and allies in the region.
- IANS
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