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.

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 declined in Tuesday’s pre-market trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.32%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 0.25%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) declined 0.38%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

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