By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) – The top U.S. general said on Wednesday U.S. troops stood ready to resume fighting if Tehran failed to strike a negotiated settlement as the Trump administration sought to portray the war as a decisive victory against Iran.
The remarks came a day after President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of a threatened civilization-ending assault on Iran on Tuesday night, two hours before a deadline he had set for Tehran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. U.S. and Iranian officials are set to meet in Pakistan for talks on Friday.
“We hope that Iran chooses a lasting peace,” General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference.
“A ceasefire is a pause and the joint force remains ready, if ordered or called upon, to resume combat operations — with the same speed and precision as we’ve demonstrated over the last 38 days.”
Despite the ceasefire, Saudi Arabia’s crucial East-West oil pipeline, currently its only outlet for crude exports, was hit in an Iranian attack. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted nine drones over the past few hours while Kuwait said a number of facilities were attacked by Iranian drones.
TACTICAL U.S. GAINS, BUT STRATEGIC WIN?
Tehran, which demonstrated its ability to cut off Gulf energy supplies through its grip on the strait, has claimed victory and says it is entering the talks without trust in U.S. negotiators.
“The enemy, in its unjust, illegal and criminal war against the Iranian nation, has suffered an undeniable, historic and crushing defeat,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, portrayed Iran as militarily defeated and without any option but to strike a deal. Hegseth and Caine spoke about the destruction of Iran’s defense industry, its navy and its missile capabilities.
Hegseth said the U.S. military was “hanging around” in the Middle East to ensure Iran complies with the two-week ceasefire and to monitor the country’s enriched uranium stockpile, adding that the United States would take it “if we have to.”
“President Trump had the power to cripple Iran’s entire economy in minutes, but he chose mercy,” Hegseth told reporters.
Caine detailed the tactical gains the U.S. military had achieved, including destroying about 80% of Iran’s air defense systems, attacking 90% of its weapons factories and sinking approximately 90% of its regular naval fleet.
But experts say the broader strategic objectives do not appear to have been met since the Iranian regime largely remains intact and Tehran may be more emboldened going forward.
The U.S. has more than 50,000 U.S. troops in the Middle East and has been increasing that number. U.S. officials told Reuters that the movement of thousands of Marines to the region, from San Diego, was continuing for now.
During the course of the 38-day war, 13 U.S. troops were killed while 372 service members were injured — though the vast majority of them had already returned to service.
The U.S. carried out operations to rescue two airmen whose plane had been downed over Iran last week.
The successful extraction ended one of the most perilous episodes of the conflict.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Katharine Jackson, Susan Heavey. Editing by Michelle Nichols and Chizu Nomiyama)
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