An Iranian who plotted to assassinate Donald Trump has been "hunted down and killed", the US Secretary of War has claimed.
Pete Hegseth, Mr Trump's defence chief, revealed US forces had killed the head of the unit that previously attempted to assassinate the President.
"The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed," he said.
"Iran tried to kill President Trump. And President Trump got the last laugh.
The Defense Secretary did not name the individual who was responsible for the failed plot.
"We've known for a long time that Iran had intentions on trying to kill President Trump and or other U.S. officials," he continued.
"And while that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, never raised by the president or anybody else, I ensured, and others ensured that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list."
The threat from Tehran stretches back to Trump's first term, when he ordered the 2020 airstrike that killed General Qasem Soleimani, Iran's most formidable military commander.
An Iranian who plotted to assassinate Donald Trump has been 'hunted down and killed', the US Secretary of War has claimed
|REUTERS
During the 2024 presidential campaign, national security officials warned Trump's team that Iranian operatives had deployed multiple assassination squads on American soil.
The US Justice Department charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot ordered by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps to target Trump, then president-elect. Tehran has denied these accusations.
Earlier in the press conference, Mr Hegseth had praised the "incredible" results of the latest round of strikes in Tehran, noting how an Iranian warship had been sunk with a torpedo by a US submarine.
"We are only four days into this, and the results have been incredible, historic really...only the United States of America could lead this," he said.
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Pete Hegseth told press US forces had killed the head of the unit that was attempting to assassinate the President
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"I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Eric Fury– America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy. They are toast, and they know it."
He declared: "The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf."
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Dan Caine, standing beside a map titled "Operation EPIC FURY Timeline First 100 Hours," reported that US forces had struck more than 2,000 targets and destroyed upwards of 20 Iranian naval vessels.
The general indicated that military operations would soon expand deeper inland into Iranian territory, with Hegseth asserting that complete control of Iranian airspace was imminent.
Six American service members have lost their lives since Operation Epic Fury commenced on Friday, killed by an Iranian drone strike at a command centre in Kuwait on Sunday.
General Caine paid tribute to the fallen, naming Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, who was mere days from returning to her family, Captain Cody Khork, 35, Sgt 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, and Sgt Declan Coady, 20.
Two further names remain withheld pending family notification.
Iranian authorities reported at least 1,045 deaths on their side by Wednesday.
When questioned about a strike on a girls' primary school in southern Iran that reportedly killed more than 160 people, including numerous children, Hegseth stated the incident was under investigation, insisting the US "never target civilian targets".
Mr Trump himself acknowledged on Tuesday that the "worst-case" scenario could see an equally hostile successor emerge in Tehran.
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