Iran War: Defense Secretary Hegseth Warns Of ‘Most Intense’ Strikes, Says The Middle East Country Is ‘Badly Losing’

• Hegseth did not rule out the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground in Iran, while acknowledging that there could be additional American casualties.
• The Defense Secretary also stated that Iran had fired the lowest number of missiles on Monday during a 24-hour period since the war began.
• Meanwhile, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei defended the country’s attacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East, calling them “legitimate targets.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday warned that today will be the “most intense” day of strikes on Iran, amid an intensifying conflict in the Middle East that is impacting 12 neighbors of the country in the region.

“Iran stands alone, and they are badly losing,” Hegseth said, adding that Iranian leaders are “desperate, scrambling.”

Hegseth did not rule out the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground in Iran, while acknowledging that there could be additional American casualties.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities were mixed in Tuesday’s opening trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.1%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) rose 0.07%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) declined 0.03%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

The Defense Secretary also stated that Iran had fired the lowest number of missiles on Monday during a 24-hour period since the war began.

“This is not endless nation-building under those types of quagmires we saw under Bush or Obama,” he added. The U.S. military has struck more than 3,000 targets in Iran during the first week of the war.

Iran Defends Strikes On US Bases In Middle East

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei defended the country’s attacks on U.S. military targets in the Middle East.

During an interview with CNBC, Baghei said that the Iranian attacks were on “legitimate targets” under the United Nations Charter’s Article 51, stating that the country was defending itself.

“All military bases, installations, and assets that in any form or manner are being used to help the aggressors are regarded as legitimate targets,” Baghaei said during the interview.

Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures maturing in April fell about 8% to $87, at the time of writing. Brent crude futures expiring in May also fell 8% to hover around $90.9 a barrel.

The United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) was up over 1%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) was up more than 4% at the time of writing.

Also See: QURE Stock’s Relentless Rally Continues Today — Here's Why HC Wainwright Is Bullish On uniQure

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