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Hegseth and Caine News Conference; Hegseth Talks about Iran War; University of Alabama Student Missing in Spain. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 19, 2026 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00]

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Like so many other places driven by a radical ideology, they've spent that money, instead of investing in their people. And that's why you had millions of Iranians protesting, because their felt like their condition -- quality of life didn't match what it could be or should be. And what was the Iranian state? There's a reason we call Iran the number one state sponsor of terrorism, because they took the money they make and they invest it in tunnels, and they invest it in missiles, and they invest it in launchers and UAVs. And we are destroying and degrading that in historic proportions. But it doesn't mean they won't still have some and try to hold people at issue, which is why we're fighting every single day to continue to compel.

And you mentioned embassies and consulates. Unlike previous administrations, we are doubling and tripling down on ensuring that our people, regardless of their Department of War, Department of State, whatever they do, are secure in those facilities. And the best defense is a good offense. And so, we're not -- we're not afraid to go after and kill anybody. And we have, a lot of them, attempting to target our diplomatic facilities. Iran, you know, we're not -- we're not surprised that they would indiscriminately target. And we're still seeing that.

Jerry (ph).

REPORTER: As part of the justification for the war against Iran, the White House has laid out, in fairly comprehensive fashion, that Iran, the Iranian regime's 47 years of terrorism aimed at the U.S., including pointing to the IRGC's provision of weapons and EFPs to help kill Americans in Iraq. The Pentagon, in 2019, assessed Iran was responsible for the deaths of at least 603 service members in Iraq. But there hasn't been a similar accounting, public accounting, by Iran's role helping the Taliban in Afghanistan. And that also hasn't been part of the White House's public argument.

I was wondering if you could speak to Iran's role in helping the Taliban during the war in Afghanistan.

And, Chairman, as you and the secretary eloquently spoke about, 13 U.S. service members have been killed so far during Operation Epic Fury. I was wondering what lessons have been learned from those deaths, both from Iranian strikes, from an aircraft refueling accident, how are those lessons being applied to the current conflict, and how are those lessons going to be applied to a potential conflict in INDOPACOM?

Thank you.

HEGSETH: Well, thank you for the question.

And its true, in a town that can have a very short memory, President Trump does not. He remembers what this regime, Iranian regime was founded on, what their declaration has been from the beginning, death to America, death to Israel. They've stated that. They've intended to, in every way, try to accomplish that, killing Americans in any theater they can, embassies for a long -- for quite a long time.

In Iraq, that was the deadliest weapon was the EFP, the Explosively Formed Penetrator. I was there when that tactic and technique started to emerge. And the realization was it wasn't just jihadis putting together 155 (ph) rounds daisy chained. It was an entire state, a country with its apparatus able to mold steel in a way that was specifically designed to penetrate American armor and kill Americans. This was not, oh, maybe we send him a couple of thoughts about how to build a bomb. This was Iran specifically passing technology and wherewithal and personnel into Iraq to kill Americans specifically. I know the number is said to be 600. A lot of us think it's higher than that given the amount of capability they brought in. So, they have been at war with us, whether we acknowledge it or not, for 47 years.

The same goes in Afghanistan. Name the Islamist enemy, whether they are Sunni or Shia, because this is a Shia regime, Sunni or Shia, and Iran's been willing to harbor them as long as that group is willing to try to kill Americans. So, the enemy of their enemy has been their friend as well in the Islamist world.

To Iran, whether it's Iraq, whether it's Afghanistan, whether it's around the world, has been targeting Americans. And what they wanted in this context, and what President Trump would not tolerate, is a regime of that nature being closer and closer to nuclear capabilities. A capability they would have said they would want to use, and we ought believe what our enemies say they would do if they got the most dangerous weapon in the world.

So, it's been across every theater that Iran's been a threat to America. And sometimes we have to remind folks of that. But thank goodness we have a commander in chief who, on behalf of this country, has internalized that and said, hey, we're going to do something about it.

GEN. DAN CAINE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Jerry, I do want to talk about the lessons learned question because it's important to me. I won't share particular tactical lessons. And the KC-135 incident is under investigation. But I do want to talk about how I think about this and how we think about it. And this is something that I'm pretty passionate about. I believe the joint force has to be a very fast learning organization early, often and always.

[08:35:01] And so, in each case, both at the strategic, operational and tactical level, we've charged a joint force to look at themselves and say, what was our plan? Well, first, did we have a plan, yes or no? The answer is always yes because we plan for literally everything. Did we execute our plan, yes or no? If we did, did it work? If not, why not? If we didn't execute our plan but did something better, what's the lesson learned associated with that? And then, how do we quickly capture those lessons after every loss or every engagement and quickly adopt those lessons and then share them across the entirety of the joint force.

And inside the joint staff, we've tasked our J-7 directorate, under the lead of general -- Lieutenant General Laszewski (ph), a United States Marine, to be extremely entrepreneurial in harvesting and capturing those lessons in a proactive and not reactive way. In fact, we've got teammates from the J-7 who are now spread out across the CENTCOM theater, both here in the states and forward, to ensure that in every opportunity we do not miss a chance to grab that lesson and quickly accelerate it into the practice that we adopt inside the joint force so that if there's a loss or if there's something that we can learn from, that we learn it not only in the CENTCOM AOR, but we adapted it across all of the combat and commands, not just INDOPACOM. And it's across all of the warfighting functions. I've asked them to look rigorously to check our egos at the door, to remember this is about what's right, not who's right, and to be clinical around the way we look at lessons learned because we owe it to the force to do that.

Thanks for that question.

HEGSETH: Absolutely.

Brown jacket in the back.

JONATHAN DRAEGER, REPORTER, "REALCLEARPOLITICS": Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Jonathan Draeger with "RealClearPolitics."

As you've said, at the end of this war Iran will be without a missile or drone capability, a navy or the ability to make nuclear weapons. Since the largest threat and sponsor of terror in the region will be incapacitated, are there plans to move assets and troops out of the Middle East? I guess, in a perfect world, a year after the war has ended, what does the military presence in the Middle East look like compared to before the war?

HEGSETH: Well, I appreciate the question.

I do think when you address a real threat head on, it creates new options on the other side, right? I think what President Trump refuses to do, which too often this town does, is just sit in the status quo. Oh, nobody can do about that. They've got too much capability. What if this happens? What if that happens? He instead says, what's in the interest of the American people? It's going to take some courage. It's going to take some capabilities. We're going to have to gather some forces there in order to do it. We're not going to tell people how many or how long or what we're willing to do or what we're not willing to do. But if you do that and do that decisively, then out the other end is a recognition that it opens the aperture of what's possible.

I mean President Trump did the same thing in creating an opportunity for the Abraham Accords. Now, you've got a situation where a lot of those countries are coming alongside us, recognizing the threat of Iran. So, I think our posture in the future will be based, first and foremost, on our own national security, power projection, the ability to defend our people and our interests.

But no doubt, working alongside our partners, the president will look at what makes the most sense going forward. I appreciate that question.

Yes, right here.

(CROSS TALK)

REPORTER: War crime, is that the policy of the U.S. military now?

HEGSETH: I'm -- excuse me. I didn't -- there you go.

REPORTER: Thank you, Secretary Hegseth. Two questions for you.

The vice president has often emphasized that the goal of this war is to denuclearize Iran, while also avoiding a larger quagmire. I know that you touched on this. I'd like you to expand on how do you do that? How do you denuclearize the country while also avoiding this, you know, forever war?

And then there was a report last night that the Pentagon asked the White House for $200 billion for Iran war supplemental. Can you confirm this? And can you explain why a package this large is necessary?

HEGSETH: Well, first of all, none of this would have been possible without Midnight Hammer, without that audacious mission with very clear goals that did obliterate their ability to enrich and the capabilities they have in those facilities. So, it created the conditions for Iran to step forward and say, OK, you can reach out and touch us like that in our nuclear ambitions. You can see that we're still trying to do this. Let's make a deal.

And President Trump put our two best folks on it, Steve and Jared. And they worked diligently, earnestly, I watched it, to try to pursue that deal. And ultimately, I think the whole time Iran sort of said, well, we'll talk as we build more missiles, and as we build more UAVs, and we create this conventional umbrella so that if we chose to, we could try to reconstitute the program. And sort of naively thinking that President Trump wouldn't do something about it. And that's why, as Secretary Rubio has said and I've said, it's the conventional umbrella that was growing and growing and growing that was meant to protect that nuclear capability. So, you had to address both, what happened with Midnight Hammer and what happened with that as well.

[08:40:04]

As far as $200 billion. I think that number could move, obviously. It takes -- it takes money to kill bad guys. So, we're going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is -- everything's refilled. And not just refilled, but above and beyond. I mean President Trump, as he said, rebuilt the military in his first term. Didn't think he'd use it as dynamically in his second, but he had. So, thank goodness he did that. And an investment like this is meant to say, hey, we'll replace anything that was spent. And now that we're reviving our defense industrial base and rebuilding the arsenal of freedom and cutting deals like our great deputy secretaries here is doing, long lead times on exquisite munitions, we're going to be refilled faster than anyone imagined.

And I think, you know, we're also still dealing with the environment that Joe Biden created, which was -- which was depleting those stockholders and not sending them to our own military, but to Ukraine, which is when -- every time we reach back and look at any sort of a challenge we have, it goes back to, well, send it to Ukraine. Ultimately, we think this should be these -- these munitions are better spent in our own interests at this point. And this kind of funding bill is going to ensure that we're properly funded going forward.

We'll take -- we'll take one more. Right here.

JORDAN CONRADSON, REPORTER, "THE GATEWAY PUNDIT": Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Jordan Conradson with "The Gateway Pundit."

So, with this strike yesterday on South Pars gas field, you know, if the U.S. didn't know about it or didn't approve of it, it kind of seems like a trend of Israel apparently pursuing their own objectives over U.S. objectives. I'm not sure if you agree with that. But the president has said he doesn't want to hit Iran's oil infrastructure right now. As you've said, the U.S. avoided this on Kharg Island. Oil's nearing $120. Why are we helping Israel prosecute this war if they're going to pursue their own objectives?

HEGSETH: We hold the cards. We have objectives. Those objectives are clear. We have allies pursuing objectives as well. And the truth speaks for itself. I mean President Trump was very clear about that. Iran has weaponized energy for decades. Israel clearly sent a warning. And POTUS has made it clear, very clear. Iran knows when you hit Kharg Island, when you hit military capabilities on Kharg Island, which is the only thing we hit, we can hold anything at issue, anything. The United States military controls the fate of that country. Iran has the ability to make the right choices. It should not, going forward, target Arab allies, Arab countries, trying to create pain, the pain that they created themselves.

Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chair of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Caine, in a news conference that was, for the most part, notable for what was not asked and not offered. KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

BERMAN: Until the very end, when there was a question about the Israeli strike on the South Pars gas field in Iran and the retaliatory Iranian strike in a Qatar oil field, there was nothing, nothing, no mention at all about these strikes, which have sent oil prices and natural gas prices spiking. At the end there, the secretary did not address the contradictory claims, President Trump saying he knew nothing about the Israeli strike beforehand, although reporting from CNN and "Axios" and from Israeli sources say that the president and the United States did know about these strikes beforehand. We will continue our reporting on that.

There were no questions about possible troop movements to the region. Reuters reporting thousands more troops may be headed there. And there were no questions and no discussion about what is being done to open the straits of -- the Strait of Hormuz.

The secretary did say that today will be the most intense day of strikes yet, indicating that things continue to be increasing in intensity. And also said that this will not end on a definitive time frame. No definitive timeframe yet for the end of this.

I should note also the secretary opened his statement by talking about the troops that have been lost here. That's the first time he has opened a press briefing with that. So, that was a development, an evolution in how he addresses this, though it was followed by extraordinarily political statements from the secretary, a break from past secretaries of defense.

A lot to discuss. We're going to get to all of this right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:43]

BOLDUAN: All right. Let's get to the breaking news this morning.

We just -- we were listening to an update coming from the Pentagon on the war in Iran. An update short on detail, we should say. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, though, saying the United States will unleash, in his words, its largest strike package yet on Iran. Declining, though, to put a timeline on the end of the war and what the measures of it would be, other than reaching and obtaining our objectives, saying that they are on track to do that.

Joining us right now is CNN global affairs analyst Karim Sadjadpour and Kim Dozier.

Karim, it is good to see you. You have been, as everyone will know who has watched you over the years, you have been -- you know this region and you know Iran better than most. When you hear this update from the Pentagon, what does that tell you about the progress that is being made to bring this war to an end? KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, there's two

different wars here, Kate. There's the military war and then the political battle. And that briefing was all about the military objectives, which, you know, up until now, obviously, the United States and Israel are dominating Iran militarily. But what we've heard from U.S. officials, including Tulsi Gabbard, that this is a regime which remains intact, ready to use brutality.

[08:50:08]

And if this war were to end tomorrow, it's a regime which is committed to rebuilding what has been lost.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me ask you just quickly what you made of the secretary asking for another $200 billion in funding. Did it surprise you that that is -- would be the supplemental package as they go after Iran? Because they are saying that they have really diminished just about every capability that Iran has already.

SADJADPOUR: It didn't surprise me because this is -- this war is being fought very profoundly, economically, a symmetrical way, in that Iran is using $20,000 to $30,000 drones, which require us to use munitions which cost perhaps ten times as much to shoot down.

The thing that I'm paying close attention to I guess are three things. One is, the price of oil that's very much part of Iran's strategy, to spike the price of oil. You know second is, American public opinion. And that's very divided. The MAGA Republicans seem to be supporting this nine out of ten, but much of the rest of the country is not.

And then the final thing is, how many drones and missiles and interceptors does Iran have remaining?

BERMAN: You called them the three p's in your writing, which I thought was really, really incredible.

SADJADPOUR: Yes.

BERMAN: Petroleum, politics and projectiles. Those are the three things to watch as this conflict continues.

Kim Dozier, I want to bring you into this conversation here.

And again, I want to note how little new information was provided in this news conference in general. Mostly because of the people asking the questions. Mostly because of the questions they were asking.

It wasn't until the end that they got to maybe the biggest development overnight, which is the exchange over the world's largest natural gas field. And the notion that President Trump has put forward that Israel struck Iran's gas field without U.S. knowledge. And the question was asked, is Israel operating, you know, above and beyond the constraints of the United States? And the secretary didn't really answer that question directly, other than to say, we have the cards here.

What did you take from that? What questions do you still have? KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, the claim that Israel

didn't coordinate with the Pentagon on this really beggars belief. And what I'm wondering is, did Israel coordinate with the Pentagon but it wasn't communicated with President Trump, and that enabled him to make that claim in a Truth tweet overnight saying that we didn't know Israel was going to do this, but they're not going to do it again.

The fact of the matter is, this is increased pressure on the energy industry at a time when in the past 24 hours the Iranians have deployed fast boats and hit ships trying to traverse the Strait of Hormuz or nearby the Strait of Hormuz. And what that's brought in is the specter of, it's not safe to cross, even with naval escorts with the -- which the U.S. has been potentially offering. We've heard from shipping companies that they cannot chance moving through that strait while the Iranians have the high ground. You know, all that area on the Iranian side overlooking the strait, that's the southern Zagros Mountain Range.

So, they have dug in there. They have a lot of options and opportunities to hit slow moving vessels. And that's having a knock-on effect that we're all seeing in the oil markets.

I want to bring up the other thing that jumped out at me in that press conference is, we've now moved from a five to six week estimate to lifting any sort of time estimate on when this war is done. And that tells me they're realizing it's going to be a lot harder to root out elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps across Iran.

BERMAN: Kim Dozier, Karim, thank you both so much for this. Obviously, we're going to have much more ahead.

In the meantime, a college student vanishes while on spring break in Europe. Why his cell phone may be the key police need to find him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:57:29]

BERMAN: This morning, an urgent search underway for an American college student who disappeared after a night out in Spain. James Gracey, a 20 year old junior at the University of Alabama, was visiting his friends in Barcelona. A photo was taken shortly before he was last seen outside a club on Tuesday.

Let's go right to CNN's Dianne Gallagher, tracking the story.

Dianne, I got to say, I am among many parents who have had kids do semesters abroad in Barcelona. So, this is really terrifying.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and, look, the family and friends of James "Jimmy" Gracey are incredibly worried, saying this is extremely out of character for the 20-year-old University of Alabama student.

John, I did just get some new information from our colleague in Spain, Paul Mosquera (ph), who says that he just spoke with the Catalan police force, the (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE), which told him that the investigations unit is now in command of the search and police have deployed marine and underwater units in the areas of the Olympic Port and Somorrostro Beach, which is in front of the club where Jimmy Gracey was last seen. In addition, he says that officers are patrolling Barceloneta on motorcycles looking for him as well.

Now, look, Jimmy Gracey was in Spain for spring break. He was visiting friends who were studying abroad. And he was last seen at the Shoko nightclub, outside of it, around 3:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday. A fraternity brother who was not with them last night said that -- that night, said there was a large group of friends who went out and they lost contact with Jimmy. They sort of separated.

The last time that he was seen, and I do want you to bring up, if you can, that photo of him in the white shirt again in full, because that was taken that night. These were the clothes that he was wearing. His mother has posted about this as well, noting that he's got the white shirt, the dark pants, the chain with the gold rhinestone cross on it.

Again, we don't have a lot of information here. Something we do know, Jimmy is without his cell phone. And his mother says that's because police already have it. It was recovered after it had been stolen.

Now, a source close to the investigation also told CNN that aquatic forces were out on Wednesday searching the waters in the area as well but had negative results. They're also looking through camera footage and trying to potentially retrace his steps.

Look, he's from the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst. He is described as just a really responsible person who is the oldest of five children, helps take care of his younger siblings. He is an avid hockey player, according to his uncle, David Gracey, who is a senior producer here at CNN in Washington.

[09:00:00]

He says that Jimmy has a flight booked home to the U.S. on Saturday. And stresses how out of character this is for a man that he describes as incredibly