Pete Hegseth: Today will be the 'most intense' of US strikes on Iran

The US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted America's war aims are clear, at a Pentagon press conference. We'll hear from those inside Iran caught up in the bombardment, and from our correspondent, Tom Bateman, who attended that news conference.

Also on the programme: Authorities in the US state of New Mexico have launched a search of a ranch previously owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; and the German carmaker Volkswagen has said it will cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 as its profits fell by over 40 percent in 2025.

(Photo: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference at CENTCOM headquarters in Florida on the 5th of March 2026. Credit:

Cristóbal Herrera/EPA/Shutterstock)