Pentagon chief says strikes on Iran will be 'strong' and 'clear' US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that upcoming strikes against Iran will be "strong" and "clear", suggesting the military action could stretch into a second night. "Those strikes that'll happen tonight will be strong; they will be clear. If they happen to happen tomorrow night, they will be strong and they will be clear," Hegseth told journalists at US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.