WASHINGTON: The White House on Wednesday said Iran’s leadership and military capabilities are being “absolutely crushed” by the ongoing US–Israel military campaign, describing the combined offensive as a decisive effort to dismantle Tehran’s ability to threaten the region and its neighbours.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the concerted strikes have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities and weakened the regime’s command structures, ending decades of tolerance for what the administration describes as state‑sponsored terrorism.
The comments came as the United States and Israel continue extensive operations targeting key military and strategic sites across Iran, following the outbreak of hostilities that have reverberated across the Middle East.
“Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, the Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed,” Karoline Leavitt told a news conference.
LIVE NOW: “Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, the rogue Iranian terrorist regime is being absolutely crushed.” 🔥 @PressSec pic.twitter.com/huACWSlY9R
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 4, 2026
She said President Donald Trump will attend a ceremony marking the return of American troops killed during the war on Iran.
“President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families,” Karoline Leavitt said, adding that no date had yet been announced.
She said the Trump Administration is doing everything within its power to protect Americans. “More than 17,500 Americans have since returned home,” the official added.
Iran rejected peace offers
She said Iran has categorically rejected peace overtures from the United States and its allies, dismissing calls for negotiations.
The official added the US has struck nearly 2,000 Iranian targets across the country as part of its coordinated campaign with Israel, significantly degrading Tehran’s military infrastructure and offensive capabilities.
She added Iran rejected generous and unprecedented peace offers of US.
US working to secure Strait of Hormuz
Karoline Leavitt went on say that The United States is working on a plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz and protect oil tankers amid the ongoing war with Iran. However she did not provide details on the timeline.
“We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours,” she said.
Iran claims to strike second US THAAD system
Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it had struck and destroyed a second US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in West Asia, as fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel intensified across the region.
The IRGC, in a statement carried by official Sepah News, said it hit the system with precision-guided missiles.
US vows to fight Iran war ‘as long as needed’
The United States vowed on Wednesday to continue its war against Iran for “as long as needed,” as fighting spread across the Middle East, oil prices climbed, and global markets tumbled.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington was “winning, decisively” and had the capacity to sustain the conflict.
“Our air defences and that of our allies have plenty of runway. We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to,” Hegseth told a press conference at the Pentagon. He declined to set a timeline for the campaign.
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” he said.
“Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”
US expands military operations
Hegseth said additional US forces, including fighter jets and bombers, were arriving in the region.
He said the United States had spared “no expense or capability” to bolster air defences.
“This does not mean we can stop everything,” he said, acknowledging that some Iranian missile and drone attacks could still cause damage.
US submarine sinks Iranian warship
Hegseth also confirmed that a US submarine had torpedoed and sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo,” he said, calling it the first US sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War II.
Meanwhile, Tehran ruled out any talks with Washington. Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told state television that Iran had “no trust in the Americans and we have no basis for any negotiations with them”.
“We can continue the war as long as we want,” he said.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Trump of betraying diplomacy.
“When complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when big lies cloud realities, unrealistic expectations can never be met,” Araghchi wrote on X.
