It’s not Iraq, but it’s not an overnight, quick fix either.

That was the message on Monday from Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine, who were kind enough to update the American people on the war they started over the weekend. (To be fair to Washington’s Iran hawks, the regime in Tehran’s been asking for this, in some cases quite literally, for decades, but you get the point.)

The US military’s going to be bombing the country for days, and probably weeks, Caine indicated, adding that the Pentagon does expect that more US servicemembers will be killed. The death toll among American troops as of Monday morning was four. In Iran, hundreds have died, including dozens of military personnel up and down the ranks. Casualties are also rising in Israel, where nine people were killed in a single incident on Sunday.

Hegseth and Caine appeared to suggest that at least for now, this is an open-ended conflict. They didn’t put it quite that way, but they almost did, noting that operations will “remain active” not only across the theater, but across the globe.

It’s only barely an exaggeration to paraphrase Caine as saying that if anybody, anywhere wants to go to war, America’s more than willing. “We can reach you, we can sustain the fight, we can scale the fight,” he said, threatening nobody in particular.

Over about 45 minutes, I didn’t hear a clearly articulated rationale for the war, let alone a plan for what’s next after the bombs stop falling — whenever that is. Asked why Donald Trump’s “sending [American] men and women to war,” Hegseth dodged. “We’re ensuring the mission gets accomplished,” he said, again refusing to delineate exactly what the mission is.

Throughout, Hegseth was visibly irritable. Even more so than usual. He repeatedly assailed reporters for asking the questions any responsible, free media should ask in a situation like this one. Caine was more professional, but that’s a low bar when Hegseth’s the standard.

Disconcertingly, Hegseth was noncommittal about the prospect of US boots on Iranian soil. When someone asked if special operators are there now, he said “no,” but quickly added that he isn’t going to say “what we will or will not do” going forward. “Why in the world would we tell you, you, the enemy — anybody — what we will or will not do?” he sneered, gesticulating at the press corps.

(I can answer that: Because “you, you” and me are taxpayers whose loved ones are being put in harm’s way, and while we understand that a certain amount of secrecy’s required, we’re going to ask after as much information as we can get. That’s part of it, Pete.)

Caine indicated that more US warplanes are en route, and that once they arrive in the region, the US will be “where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity.” The US achieved air superiority over Iran within hours of the initial attacks on Saturday, he noted.

As far as what’ll determine when the war — sorry, the operation — ends, Hegseth said it’s all up to Trump. “He has all the latitude and I am glad he does,” Hegseth said. “This is not Iraq, this is not endless. Our generation knows better and so does this president.”