Donald Trump has said Pete Hegseth is ‘disappointed’ about negotiations with Iran a day after he suggested the conflict was the Secretary of War’s idea.
‘You know the only two people who were quite disappointed, I don’t want to say this but I have to – Pete and General “Raizin” Caine,’ Trump said, referencing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday at the Oval Office, the US leader added: ‘Pete didn’t want [the war] to be settled.’
Meanwhile, the Secretary of War doubled down on his insistence that strikes must continue, saying that the United States ‘negotiates with bombs.’
Speaking at the same conference, Hegseth claimed that it was the first time in history that a modern military had been so destroyed.
He said: ‘The air campaign we’ve conducted was one for the history books.
‘Never in history has a modern military… been so rapidly and historically obliterated, defeated, from day one with overwhelming firepower.’
He added: ‘The President has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon. The war department agrees, our job is to ensure that. We are keeping our hand on that throttle as long and as hard as is necessary to ensure that the interests of the United States of America are achieved on that battlefield.’
Speaking at a press conference at the Oval Office, the US leader added: ‘Pete didn’t want [the war] to be settled’
Hegseth claimed that it was the first time in history that a modern military had been so destroyed
This comes just one day after Trump appeared to shift blame onto Hegseth as the US President suggested his Secretary of War came up with the idea of striking Iran.
Speaking Monday at a conference in Tennessee, Trump said: ‘I called a lot of our great people… and I said, “Let’s talk. We got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country known as Iran that, for 47 years, has been just a purveyor of terror, and they’re close to a nuclear weapon.”‘
Turning to Hegseth who was sitting to his right, Trump added: ‘And Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. And you said, “Let’s do it, because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”‘
The defense secretary forced an awkward smile as the US President continued discussing ongoing talks with Iran, claiming they had ‘started last night’.
‘I think they’re very good. They want peace to – they’ve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know etc., etc., but we’ll see. You have to get it done. But I would say there’s a very good chance,’ Trump said.
On Monday, Trump announced a five-day halt to US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure while pursuing back-channel talks with Tehran through intermediaries, signaling he may be looking for a way out.
But despite the dialogue with Tehran, the US is considering deploying around 3,000 troops to support a possible ground invasion, joining thousands of Marines already dispatched to the Middle East.
While giving an update at the press conference on Tuesday, Trump was asked what made him start pursuing a ceasefire when he previously spoke of wanting to continue bombing Iran.
‘They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense,’ the President replied.
He explained that the priority of the conflict was to ensure Iran didn’t build a nuclear weapon.
‘I don’t want to say in advance, but they’ve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon,’ Trump said.
When the President was asked if he planned to send envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to conduct direct negotiations with Iran, Trump answered that the US was already doing just that.
‘We’re in negotiations right now. They’re doing it along with Marco, JD. We have a number of people doing it. And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal,’ Trump said.
The defense secretary forced an awkward smile as the US President continued discussing ongoing talks with Iran, claiming they had ‘started last night’
A plume of smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran
Trump has been cagey about who the US is speaking to in Iran, as droves of leaders of the Islamic Regime have been killed in the joint Israeli and US strikes.
‘We killed all their leadership and then they met to choose new leaders and we killed all of them. And now we have a new group and we can easily do that but let’s see how they turn out,’ Trump said.
The President continued to refuse to name names, but he said Iranian leaders the US is dealmaking with gave the country a ‘present.’
‘They did something yesterday that was amazing. Actually, they gave us a present and the present arrived today and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money,’ Trump said.
‘And I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize and they gave it to us.’
Trump said that gesture signaled one thing to him. ‘We’re dealing with the right people,’ he stated.
When a reporter guessed that it was nuclear related, Trump pushed back.
‘It was oil and gas related and it was a very nice thing they did,’ the President said.
Another reporter asked if the ‘present’ was related to the Strait of Hormuz, the major shipping lane where Iran has been mounting attacks.
‘Yeah, it was related to the flow and to the strait, yeah,’ Trump answered.
Despite Trump’s claims, Iran targeted American military bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday in a fresh missile salvo.
In a statement carried by Iranian media, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the targets are ‘in the heart of the occupied territories’ as it renewed attacks on Gulf states.
Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport, the Gulf state’s civil aviation authority said, causing ‘limited’ damage.
In Bahrain, the interior ministry said air raid sirens were activated, while Jordan’s public security directorate reported shrapnel fell near the capital Amman, resulting in no casualties or damage.
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted at least four drones in the kingdom’s east.
Iranian military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari mocked Trump over his latest remarks, suggesting the US is ‘negotiating with yourselves’.
‘The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could,’ he said.
Smoke rises from Kuwait international airport after a drone strike on fuel storage in Kuwait City, on March 25
Meanwhile, Trump has apparently sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war.
The New York Times, quoting unnamed officials, said that the United States had sent the propsoal to Iran through Pakistan after the country’s prime minister offered to host US-Iran talks.
Israel’s Channel 12 said that Trump was proposing a one-month ceasefire during which the sides would discuss a proposal that would include handing over Iran’s enriched uranium and banning further enrichment.
Iran would also ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran in turn would see an end to all sanctions, which have been in place in various forms for years, the Israeli report said.
Iran would also receive assistance in developing civil nuclear energy at Bushehr, a key site which dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
