Iran War: Top US Military Leaders Warned Pete Hegseth Against Prolonging Operations, Report Says
Several senior U.S. military leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening the military’s ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing people familiar with a recent assessment prepared for the Pentagon chief.
The warnings were detailed for Hegseth by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force, along with the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the classified Secretary of Defense Orders Book, according to people who described the document to the Post on condition of anonymity.
The document, which is typically produced twice a month, outlines the worldwide availability of U.S. military assets. One person familiar with the assessment described the overall tenor from military leadership as the Iran operation, having reached the six-month mark, being “too much for too long.”
Combatant Commands Push Back
According to Reality Tea’s summary of the Post report, the document directs some troops deployed in the Middle East to remain through September and others into 2027, and the leaders of U.S. European Command, Pacific Command and Southern Command responded with a “non-concur,” meaning they disagree with Hegseth’s order to extend their forces but will carry it out regardless.
Those geographic commands have had ships, aircraft and equipment pulled away to support the Iran conflict, limiting their ability to conduct missions and maintain training, according to people familiar with the assessment. Army and Air Force leadership, by contrast, concurred with Hegseth’s desire to extend deployed forces, though each branch emphasized that doing so carried significant risk.
Navy Under the Most Strain
The Navy has faced the heaviest demands of the conflict, and Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of Naval Operations, warned that the Navy could not indefinitely sustain its current contribution to the Iran operation without a defined end point. Caudle also told Hegseth that only about one-quarter of the Navy’s destroyer fleet was currently ready for deployment.
The strain extends to ground forces as well. The 82nd Airborne Division’s deployment has been extended to a full year, and Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier acknowledged the toll in a letter to the division community, writing that leaders understand a longer tour weighs on troops and their families.
Pentagon’s Response
Sean Parnell, a spokesman for Hegseth, said in a statement that decisions on the scope and duration of force commitments to any combatant command are made based on current threat assessments, strategic priorities set by the president, and advice from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders. Parnell added that the Pentagon does not discuss its internal deliberations over force allocation.
The warning comes as President Trump seeks to end the conflict on terms favorable to the United States, while Iran, aware of the war’s unpopularity among most Americans and its toll on the U.S. arsenal, has refused to capitulate. Trump has continued to press Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept U.S. conditions for ending the fighting, while keeping further military action on the table.
