Middle East

The Hill - The Pentagon is seething over a Washington Post report that top military leaders recently warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against extending large-scale Iran war operations.

People familiar with a classified assessment prepared for Hegseth told the Post that several combatant commanders have advised the Defense chief that prolonging operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening the U.S.’s ability to address threats elsewhere, including on U.S. soil.

The warnings appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB), detailed by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America, the Post reported Sunday.

Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell lambasted the report in a post on the social platform X.

The Hill- Iran on Monday struck back at the U.S., carrying out attacks on American military assets at bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan after U.S. forces fired at two Iranian rocket launchers over the weekend.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched drones and missiles at the King Hussein and Azraq military bases in Jordan, according to the Iranian state-run news outlet Fars News Agency. The outlet also reported that the IRGC targeted U.S. forces and helicopters at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE hours later.

The Iranian military described its attack in Jordan as a “necessary and lawful answer” to the U.S. attack on Larak Island, the outlet reported. “Aggression and crimes will not solve the enemy’s desperation in attempting to weaken the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, and every attack will be met with even more devastating responses,” the IRGC said in a statement to Fars. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned the U.S. that his country will “not remain silent in the face of assault.”

“We are not seeking war, and this is a clear message that we have repeatedly communicated to the world,” he said, according to Fars.