U.S. military leaders told reporters that Iran is firing fewer missiles than it did at the start of the hostilities, and announced a decision to expand the geographic scope of U.S. strikes inside Iran.
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news briefing that "we will now begin to expand inland striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory, and creating additional freedom of maneuver for US forces." He also stated that Iran is launching fewer missiles than at the beginning of the war on Saturday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the U.S. position as one of advantage in the conflict and noted the human cost, confirming that six U.S. troops have been killed so far. Hegseth said the United States would outlast Iran.
In a separate confirmation, Hegseth said the U.S. military had sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka. He characterized the action as the first sinking of an enemy ship by torpedo since World War Two. "An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death," Hegseth said.
The officials framed the expanded inland strikes as intended to create greater freedom of maneuver for U.S. forces while assessing a diminished Iranian missile campaign compared with earlier in the conflict.
This sequence of statements from U.S. leaders combines operational updates - fewer missile launches and an expanded targeting footprint inside Iran - with confirmation of a notable maritime engagement. The Defense Secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs emphasized both the tactical developments and the continuing toll on U.S. personnel.
Context and immediate implications
- The U.S. will increase strikes deeper inside Iranian territory, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- U.S. officials report a decline in Iranian missile launches relative to the opening of the conflict.
- A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka by torpedo, an action described as the first such sinking of an enemy ship since World War Two.
- Six U.S. service members have been confirmed killed in the conflict so far.
The officials' statements present operational shifts and losses without additional detail on timelines, locations of the expanded strikes, or further Iranian military responses.