Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Iran over the weekend that it must enter a deal that brings its nuclear program to an end or else it will face the U.S. military.
Hegseth made the remarks during a Sunday interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News while discussing how Iran has been severely weakened despite efforts from the previous Biden administration to go soft on them.
“Iran is in a very weakened state,” he said. “Hezbollah … Hamas, you look at what happened in Syria with the collapse of that regime, which was a client state of Iran, and ultimately they, a lot of their insurgent groups in Iraq, have pulled back as well.”
“But it doesn’t mean they still don’t have the desire. Their air defenses are weakened, and that’s why they’re in a position where they’re supporting groups like the Houthis, because they, in some ways, have to move to other options to try to agitate and instigate in the region,” he continued.
He said that this was a “critical moment for them” where they can choose to make a deal that will stop their nuclear program or the program will be terminated by the U.S. military.
“We hope they give it up peaceably through negotiations, the President has laid out the trajectory for that, because the alternative doesn’t look good for anybody,” he said.
Hegseth said that information about how close Iran is to obtaining a nuclear weapon is classified, a secret that the U.S. guards “very closely.”
“We watch very closely, and that’s why the President has such urgency on this, why he’s leading on this,” he said. “Nobody wants a military option as it pertains to Iran, so he is through maximum pressure — just as he did in his first administration — maximum pressure, bankrupt the Iranians.”
He also mentioned how under the Biden administration, the Iranians and their terrorist proxy groups were “awash in cash,” allowing them to fund attacks on the U.S. and allies throughout the region.
WATCH:
WATCH: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warns Iran that they must give up their pursuit of nuclear weapons or else they will face the consequences. pic.twitter.com/72B9qSZIx8
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 16, 2025
