Washington, March 4, (Net source CNN): The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the US will start “striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory,” and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cau-tioned Americans that it’s “very early” in military operations against Tehran.
A US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Hegseth said, and NATO air defense sys-tems shot down an Iranian missile that was passing through the airspace of Iraq and Syria and toward Turkey’s airspace.
Death toll rises: More than 1,000 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
On the other hand, the US has closed embassies in three countries, reduced its regional diplomatic staff-ing and warned Americans to leave. The United Arab Emirates said it opened safe air corridors with its neighbors as countries rush to evacuate stranded nationals.
In another development, the US defense chief on Wednesday dismissed China and Russia as non-factors in Washington’s decision making when it comes to the war against Iran.
“I don’t have a message for them, and they’re not really a factor here, and our issue is not with them,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a press conference, adding that the US focus was purely on ending what he called “the nuclear ambitions of Iran.”
Russia and China have longstanding diplomatic and trade ties with Iran, while Russia has close military links to the country. Both Moscow and Beijing have criticized the US-Israeli war to topple the Iranian government and destroy its military.
