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Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine Hold News Conference; Hegseth Says Regime Change Has Occurred; Marc Short is Interviewed about Iran; Discussion over Beta-Blockers. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 31, 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: Make sure they're in the right places and not easily targeted.

Gillian.

REPORTER: Thanks, Mr. Secretary.

The U.S. and Iran appear right now publicly to disagree about whether there are these negotiations ongoing. What impact does that have on military strategy? Does it have any bearing at all? And, General, the president wrote yesterday that the U.S. might destroy Iran's electricity generating plants and oil wells, those are his words, before ending this operation. Is there a way to do either of those things without, like, seriously jeopardizing or seriously harming civilians?

HEGSETH: So, on the talks, I can tell you, having been with Steve and Jared and the vice president and many -- Marco and many others yesterday, they are very real. They are ongoing. They're active. And I think gaining strength. And we appreciate that.

As I said in my remarks, we would much prefer to get a deal. If Iran was willing to relinquish material they have and ambitions they have, open this, great. That's the goal. We don't want to have to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn't mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, well negotiate with bombs. Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realize that this new regime, this regime in charge, is in a better place if they make that deal.

And so we'll continue. We're working hand in hand, but the primary effort is a deal. We want that deal to be accomplished, if at all possible. If not, then we're prepared to continue.

REPORTER: Mr. Secretary, what happened at --

(CROSSTALK)

HEGSETH: Go ahead. Go ahead, Mr. Chairman.

(CROSSTALK) GEN. DAN CAINE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Thanks for the question. We're always thinking about those considerations and develop options to be able to mitigate those risks pursuant to the normal practices that we do in the military.

(CROSSTALK)

REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

I know you slightly addressed this already. But just on the Strait of Hormuz, is opening the Strait an essential objective to Operation Epic Fury, or is that the job of those other countries? And then, secondly, without asking you to comment on things that you can't talk about, what is your message to Americans who love the president and strongly believe in him but are very worried about this notion of boots on the ground?

HEGSETH: Well, first, on the Strait of Hormuz, our core objectives from this podium, from day one, from me, from the chairman, from the president, from the vice president, from Secretary Rubio and others have been clear, defense -- missile production and missile programs, so their entire missile program, defense industrial base and production ability to build, and navy and power projection. So, those have -- and then, of course, wrapping it all is, Iran's never going to have a nuclear weapon. So, those have been very clear. Defeating the navy is a core part of ensuring they can't project that kind of power.

But ultimately, I think the president's truth this morning lays that out very well, that this Strait of Hormuz issue, which we've set the conditions for success and we will make sure Iran is -- knows that very clearly, is not just a United State of America problem set. We've been willing to lead. President Trump's led the entire time.

But it's not just us. So, ultimately, I think other countries should pay attention when the president speaks. He's proven that when he speaks he means something. And he's pointing out, you know, you might want to start learning how to fight for yourself. It's something some of us have been saying for quite some time. You can't just have flags. You have to have formations. You can't just have a few ships. You have enough to affect change. Those things matter in a dangerous world with ascendant adversaries.

That's why the president -- that's why the chairman's talking about our industrial base. That's why we're launching the Arsenal of Freedom Tour to revive our defense industrial base. President Trump doing it in a way that nobody else has.

As far as President Trump and boots on the ground, I don't understand why the base, which they have already, they understand, wouldn't have faith in his ability to execute on this. Look at his track record of pursuing peace through strength. America first outcomes.

What he's simply saying is exactly true. And I've said from this podium too, we're not going to foreclose any option. You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground.

The -- our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are. And so, if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department.

Or maybe we don't have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work. Or maybe there's a different approach. But the point is to be unpredictable in that. Certainly not let anybody know what you're willing to do or not do. But if anybody has internalized the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan as the first one, President Trump, to call them out for what they are, he's not going to repeat those lessons. And I think I've been very clear about that from the podium.

Yes.

REPORTER: Thank you, Secretary Hegseth.

A question for you and then a question for General Caine. You said we're a month into the Operation Epic Fury. How long until the objectives are achieved? And is there a scenario where a deal is struck before the objectives have been achieved?

[08:35:01]

And then, for General Caine. There's been lots of media coverage that suggested a ground invasion is imminent. What other purposes might the soldiers and the Marines who have been deployed over to the Middle East serve in this conflict?

HEGSETH: Well, just like the previous question, sort of --

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you've been watching a briefing from the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and chair of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Caine.

An update on the war. No huge news, although the secretary did say regime change has occurred inside Iran. And he certainly wouldn't deny the speculation that President Trump is considering ending the war without opening the Strait of Hormuz.

We're going to have much more right after a quick break. Analysis ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:01]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back.

We continue to monitor the Pentagon briefing that's going on and ongoing right now as the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs are now taking questions from reporters in the room.

One of the headlines that we've heard, or probably strongest statements that we've heard from the defense secretary so far is when he said that regime change has occurred, he said very clearly, more towards the top of this briefing. And beyond that, he was asked about this reporting and backed up the president on -- with regard to his latest tweets this morning or social media posts this morning about the Strait of Hormuz, where the president seems to suggest that the United States may leave the Strait of Hormuz before it is fully reopened. And the defense secretary, though not offering clarity on the U.S. position on that, though there is reporting that the president has talked to his aides about leaving this war and withdrawing before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

Let's talk about what we're hearing here and the state of things right now. Joining us right now is CNN's senior military analyst Admiral James Stavridis.

It's good to see you, Admiral.

Give me your take on what you heard from Pete Hegseth. What clarity, if any, did you hear this morning about objectives and end game?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: What I hear is a crystallization around some core objectives that are actually within reach. So that's, take out the Iranian navy, take out the ballistic missile capability, degrade or destroy the defense industrial base. Those are practical nuts and bolts, targets set, kind of just the facts, please, that you get notably from chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Caine, who I think is doing an incredible job.

What I did not hear, so far anyway, is anything to address two key things that are hanging out. One is 1,000 pounds nearly of enriched uranium. And the other, of course, is the Strait of Hormuz. How the heck are we going to get that opened? And I think the idea of, hey, Europe, come on down and open the Strait. Ultimately, I think the Europeans will participate in maritime operations to help open the Strait, but I think it's going to have to be a joint effort if we're going to get it right. Those are the two things I didn't hear that I was listening for, Kate.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm curious what you think of how Hegseth kind of described that regime change has happened. We've also heard this from the president as well. Is that how you're seeing it right now? Still with the IRCG still in place and negotiations are obviously happening according to this White House, but is regime change actually occurring there in Iran, from what you can tell?

STAVRIDIS: Sara, it's a great question. I think there clearly has been regime destruction at the highest levels, probably down to 30 or 40 key individuals at least. So, we've peeled that layer of the onion back. But what remains, I think Secretary Rubio, over the weekend, said it's opaque (ph). We don't really know exactly with whom we are dealing. We don't know exactly who's in control. And that's understandable for two reasons. One is, having witnessed the regime destruction above them, these actors are not exactly appearing in front of cameras, turning on their cell phones, making public statements. And then secondly, because of the war footing that has emerged inside Iran, it's just difficult for them to assemble, come together, coalesce around a single point. So, final thoughts, Sara. I see two negotiators who are at least

visible. One is the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, with whom we've had extensive conversations going back years. And the other is the speaker of the parliament, a man named Ghalibaf. And he is at least bruited as one of the people we can talk to.

Final thought, both of them are on a -- supposedly a no kill list provided to the Israelis. So, I think that's where we're hoping to find negotiators.

BERMAN: Admiral James Stavridis, great to have you on this morning. Thank you so much for helping us understand what we just heard from the Pentagon.

Obviously, a lot of news this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:49:09]

BOLDUAN: Welcome back.

As we were just listening to the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the Joint Chiefs chairman, Dan Caine, giving their latest update and briefing on the war in Iran. We heard from Pete Hegseth that regime change has occurred in Iran, says the secretary of defense.

But a lot of questions still remain, though, on the objectives of this war as stated today versus as were stated from that lectern and podium previously when this war began now two months ago.

Joining me right now is Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

Thanks for being here, Marc.

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's -- in general, there's been a lot of attention on Hegseth. There's some really interesting new CNN reporting on kind of the Hegseth role in front of the camera and behind the scenes, and some suggestion of why he's at -- why he's as vocal as he is and the intentions behind it.

[08:50:05]

What do you think of how he is handling, just as -- coming from working in the administration in this -- in this industry for so long, how he is handling the public projection of this war?

SHORT: Well, Kate, I think stepping back for a second, Pete has had, I think, enormous success militarily. Whether or not that's in Venezuela, our initial strikes in Iran, or here. There's been enormous success.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SHORT: I think one of the challenges we've talked about before is that probably the administration would benefit from having fewer spokesmen, because I think there's a lot of different messages that come out the more people are speaking about what the objectives are. And I think that having General Cine lead more of the briefings would probably be beneficial.

BOLDUAN: But talk to me about that. I have heard you say, you know, from really the start of this war, that Trump should make the case, may have a case to be in this war, but that he and the White House, as been -- is evidenced as two months later, people still are asking what really is the objective and what is the stated end goal, that they have not stated this and laid this out clearly.

SHORT: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Take me behind the scenes. What should be, if it's not happening, the conversation behind the scenes on how to right this ship, if you will, because they haven't gotten it right despite what Hegseth is saying. It hasn't been clear as well.

SHORT: I think undoubtedly he has a case for this. I think the president is right that for 47 years Iran has been sowing discord. They have been killing Americans and westerners. They're the greatest sponsor of terror. And I think since, honestly, October 7, 2023, that's when Israel decided we were going to change the map here and we were going to change the way this game is played.

I think that for the administration, there could have been a much better explanation on the front end, because I do think throughout there's been a -- our objective is to degrade Iran militarily so they cannot do what they've been doing. Other times it's been, we want to make sure they have no longer a nuclear capability. Other times --

BOLDUAN: He did not state nuclear capability, preventing that, in this briefing today.

SHORT: I think that clearly is still an objective, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SHORT: I think other times there's been questions about whether or not it's regime change. And so, I think that having that clarity would be helpful. And I think, you know, even if you can't do that on the front end, because you had a unique opportunity to take out the ayatollah and many of his military leaders, you can begin that as soon as -- as soon as you possibly can, starting today, by being crystal clear each day, stating for what it is. And if it's not going to be to make sure the Straits of Hormuz remain open, then you need to explain that to the American people and explain what that cost is going to be.

And I think to the president's tweet this morning, there's no doubt that Europe and Asia will pay a higher cost for that than the United States because we are a net exporter of oil. But, Kate, I think the challenge is really going to be our Middle Eastern allies for whom they say if we're going to go and take these steps, they want to see the mission completed.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SHORT: Because if not, if Iran reconstitutes itself, they're going to seek retribution on those other Middle Eastern nations, and there may not be a President Trump in the future who's looking to align with Israel the same way this president has.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And Berman pointed out something that Richard Haass sent out earlier, which was, it seems that potentially what we're -- what is being shown over and over again is a philosophy of, we broke it, you own it, seems -- is what is being thrown out there from Richard Haass.

It's good to see you, Marc. Thanks for coming in.

SHORT: Thanks, Kate. Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: Really appreciate it.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Beta-blockers have been regularly prescribed to patients who have suffered a heart attack. This has been going on for decades. It's the standard of care. It's now the medical community taking a beat, and some doctors are asking, are they always necessary?

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now.

Why are the use of beta-blockers now being questioned after it really has been the standard of care after a heart attack?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean they're starting to try and ask the question, how much of a difference do they make in someone who has had a heart attack? And just to give you some context, these are widely prescribed drugs, Sara. I mean about 10 percent of all U.S. adults take these medications, just to give some context. And the idea was, someone has a heart attack, part of the heart muscle has died, you want to take the strain off the remaining heart muscle. So, lower the blood pressure, slow the heart rate, that can take the strain off. Made perfect sense. And for 40 years, this has been sort of the gold standard after someone has had a heart attack. And again, you know, 10 percent of U.S. adults taking these.

A lot has changed, though, over the last 40 years. We are much better, as a medical community, at increasing the blood flow back to the heart. Things like angioplasty and blood thinners and using medications like statin drugs. So, all these things have made a difference in how well people do after heart attacks.

So, what they basically did is they said, let's put this to the test. Let's look at people who are on beta-blockers for three years after a heart attack. Let's look at people who are not on beta-blockers, who've discontinued them. And what they found was that there wasn't a big difference between these two groups of people. You know, just a couple percent difference in terms of overall impact on heart function. They found heart rate did go up, blood pressure did go up, but overall it did not seem to make a difference in a significant percentage of patients whether they were on beta-blockers or not.

[08:55:06]

SIDNER: That -- it's actually interesting to consider that because it's just one more drug that people don't necessarily like taking, you know, a lot of different drugs. But I do want to ask you if this would apply to every patient that's on a beta-blocker.

GUPTA: Here's the way I'd sort of think about it is that, in the past, once someone had a heart attack, their heart function, as a general rule, was decreased significantly before all these other things I was talking about, angioplasty, and blood thinners and things like that. Nowadays, you probably get about half the patients who have a heart attack and still have pretty good heart function after that heart attack, because it wasn't as severe a heart attack as a result of these new therapies. So, the way -- the way you measure heart functions, you're basically asking, how much blood is pumped out with each pumping of the heart. And once you get over 50 or 60 percent, that's considered normal. About half the patients now, more than half the patients who have a heart attack still have that preserved heart function, those are the ones, Sara, who are probably not going to need beta-blockers, at least not long term. They still may need them in the immediate aftermath, but not long term.

SIDNER: Well, Sanjay Gupta, there is always new studies being done. We appreciate the science. Do appreciate you as well.

GUPTA: You got it.

SIDNER: Don't forget to head to cnn.com and send us your questions about beta-blockers. Dr. Gupta will be back later this week to answer any of your questions.

And then we have a lot of breaking news in this hour. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)