Washington 19 March 2026 #1

19 March 2026

Secretary Hegseth tallied that since the start of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. had “struck over 7,000 targets across Iran and its military infrastructure… we’ve damaged or sunk over 120 of their Navy ships with battle damage assessments pending for many more”. President Trump, asked about deploying troops on the ground, replied: “We’re not putting troops anywhere… If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you, but I’m not putting troops, and we will do whatever is necessary”. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that “we are seeing defections at all levels as they’re starting to sense what’s going on with the regime [in Iran]… The regime will probably collapse within itself”.