US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Iran must quickly decide to abandon its nuclear ambitions through negotiations, warning that failure to meet US demands could result in devastating military action.
Speaking to students in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and military recruits at the University of Tennessee, Hegseth said Tehran had an opportunity to give up its nuclear ambitions at the negotiating table or face what he described as the destruction the United States could inflict. He stressed that Washington was capable of acting quickly if necessary.
The US official accused Iran of building a large arsenal of conventional missiles for military purposes while pursuing its nuclear ambitions. He also emphasized the role of American military power in pressuring adversaries to negotiate.
Hegseth further accused Tehran of financing allied groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi movement in Yemen, saying Washington had sought to deter attacks targeting US forces and ships.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran would end sooner than some people expected.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said: “The war will end very, very soon.”
Trump has continued to claim that Iran’s military capabilities have suffered extensive damage during the operations, as US officials maintain their warnings over the confrontation and the prospects for negotiations with Tehran.
