As the conflict between the United States and Israel versus Iran escalates, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been fielding difficult questions about the United States’s commitment to an extended conflict. Speaking at a press conference on Monday with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth provided updates on Operation Epic Fury. “We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it,” Hegseth stated unequivocally. “[Iran’s] war on Americans has become our retribution against their ayatollah and his death cult. It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence. He reminded the world, as he has time and time again, being an American means something unbreakable. If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on Earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation and we will kill you.” He called President Trump’s stance against Iran “very consistent.”

During the conference, Hegseth and Caine responded to questions regarding intentions for American boots on the ground, intel that led to the strike, as well as potential terrorist attacks on American soil. Both Hegseth and Caine were adamant that the conflict would not devolve into a decades-long struggle like in Afghanistan and Iraq, although they offered no clear cut off time for when the operation would be over, only that they intended to complete their mission. At the end of the conference, Hegseth was asked about prayer by one of the reporters. “As you’ve said, there are a large amount of U.S. service members that are in harm’s way right now. What is your prayer for them?” asked the reporter.

Hegseth, who has been vocal about his faith since being placed in his position, offered an insight to into what his prayer life looks like during the conflict. “First of all, my prayer for [US service members] is that I do pray for them. My wife prays for them, our family prays for them, our Cabinet prays for them. None of this is done on a whim,” he said, referring to his own experiences of having been deployed to Iraq. “I know we think about them with every decision that we make and every recommendation that we make to the President of the United States. Those — those recommendations are made prayerfully. And when I pray every day for them and for this mission, I pray simply for the biblical wisdom to see what is right and the courage to do it. It’s going to take courage to follow through on this. There’s going to be a lot of noise. And we pray for that, and we hope all of you do too — do as well,” he concluded.

Christians have had mixed reactions over the operation in Iran, with many celebrating the liberation of the Iranian people while at the same time worrying how long and for what benefit the operation will continue. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, a Catholic, has pushed back at the conflict, indicating the operation offers no benefit to the United States. Others have pointed to the conflict as possibly being connected to end times prophecies. Meanwhile, others worry over questions of civilian casualties, as the US investigates its possible culpability in bombing an Iranian school near an Iranian military compound. To date, over 150 have died from the strike, most of them children.