US and Israel Strike More Than 15,000 Iranian Targets, Hegseth Says

At a Pentagon briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States and Israel have struck more than 15,000 targets in Iran since the conflict began on February 28, a pace he described as averaging over 1,000 targets a day.

“15,000 targets struck in Iran, Hegseth says; Lebanon is near a “breaking point”; U”

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The claim was repeated across reporting, with Indian Express noting Hegseth's tally and PBS reporting the same figure and daily rate, while Drop Site framed the statement as Hegseth’s headline figure for the campaign.

Drop Site News

All three outlets present this number as the central metric offered by U.S. officials to describe the scale of the operation.

Hegseth said the operation would reach its "highest volume" on a particular Friday, repeating that Washington would intensify strikes; The Indian Express quoted him saying the U.S. would launch "the highest volume of strikes that America has put over the skies of Iran."

U.S. officials also asserted operational effects: PBS reported Hegseth saying Iran's missile volume was down 90% and drones down 95%.

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Both mainstream and alternative outlets highlighted that the strikes included maritime and mine-related targets, with reporting noting dozens of mine-laying vessels among the hits and U.S. statements that more than a dozen such Iranian vessels had been taken out.

Reporting also highlights sharp civilian costs and claims of damage inside Iran.

“Associated PressAssociated Press Leave your feedback Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran's missile volume is down 90%, while their drones are down 95%”

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Drop Site cited Iran’s Health Ministry figures stating "At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured in US-Israeli attacks on Iran since the war began on February 28," and the same outlet quoted the head of the Iranian Red Crescent saying "more than 21,720 civilian sites have been targeted" including homes, businesses and medical centers.

PBS detailed a deadly strike on an elementary school that "killed more than 165 people, many of them children," and noted the U.S. has opened an investigation into that strike, while Indian Express framed the strikes as part of the widened campaign Washington says it will continue.

Claims about Iran’s leadership and uncertainty over their condition appear in multiple accounts.

PBS quoted Hegseth saying "Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and 'likely disfigured,'" and noted Khamenei "has not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, leading to speculation about his whereabouts and health condition."

The Indian Express

Drop Site reported that "A senior Iranian official confirmed to Drop Site that Khamenei was injured in the initial strikes of the war, but declined to comment on the extent of his injuries."

Indian Express coverage of the U.S. campaign provides the contextual frame in which such claims were made, reiterating the U.S. intent to intensify strikes.

U.S. officials and outlets also reported operational and investigative follow-ups amid the campaign.

“Hegseth says 15,000 Iranian targets hit as US campaign intensifies (TNND) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that U”

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PBS said Gen. Dan Caine described recovery of airmen after a refueling plane crash as occurring "over friendly territory in western Iraq" and that the incident was "not the result of hostile or friendly fire," while PBS also reported Hegseth's comment that the U.S. has designated an external investigating officer into the school strike and that the U.S. does not target civilians.

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Drop Site separately noted "crew members die after refueler crashes in Iraq," and Indian Express placed these events alongside reporting that American forces had struck more than 6,000 targets the day before these intensified operations.