"Now, these are not routine operations. They were high-risk, high-stakes missions conducted in the heart of enemy territory.
"This was not just barely into Iran. This was deep into Iran, involving coordinated strikes to suppress threats, deception tactics to protect our teams, and full synchronization across air, ground, and special operations.
"The Iranians are still asking themselves right now, how did the Americans do this?"
Of the first mission, Hegseth said:
"The first mission, the first of two, was an audacious daylight thunder run right up the middle.
"It was authorized in less than two hours from that pilot going down, when we knew where he was, and it was authorized in the middle of the night because anybody that’s worked for this man knows he’s up in the middle of the night." //
"I looked up at my screen when the final mission was complete inside our SCIF, our secure facility.
"And we have a running VTC, a running coordination cell, and the top of it read 45 hours and 56 minutes.
"For 45 hours and 56 minutes, we held that call open for coordination.
"From the moment our pilots went down, our mission was unblinking.
"The call never dropped.
"The meeting never stopped.
"The planning never ceased."
