President Donald Trump is “dead serious” about preventing a nuclear-armed Iran and is willing to use military force to prevent it, if necessary, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth appeared on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” on Sunday to discuss nuclear talks between the United States and Iran that kicked off on Saturday. Hegseth said that the administration is committed to finding a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear program, the president would not rule out using military force.
“President Trump is dead serious on this issue. He’s dead serious that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. He’s said that for 20 years. He’s been consistent. That is clear,” said Hegseth. “He’s dead serious that he wants it done at the negotiating table. He wants it done peacefully, and that’s why he’s going straight to these talks.”
The talks began on Saturday with delegations from the United States and Iran meeting in Oman. The teams were led respectively by U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“These were productive talks yesterday. I don’t want to get ahead of our skis – Steve Witcoff does a fantastic job – but it was a good step, and they’re going to go at it again on Saturday,” said the Defense secretary. “But he’s also dead serious that if we can’t figure this out at the negotiating table, then there are other options – to include my department – to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb.”
“We hope we never get there … but what we’re doing with the Houthis and what we’re doing in the region, we’ve shown a capability to go far, to go deep, and to go big,” he continued. “And, again, we don’t want to do that, but if we have to, we will to prevent the nuclear bomb in Iran’s hands.”
.@SecDef: “[@POTUS is] dead serious that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon … He’s also dead serious that if we can’t figure this out at the negotiating table, then there are other options.” pic.twitter.com/oVwUw16AcC
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 13, 2025
Iranian state-owned media reported on Saturday that the two sides met in Oman “in a constructive atmosphere based on mutual respect.” The White House said in a statement that the delegations would meet again in a week.
“Special Envoy Witkoff underscored to Dr. Araghchi that he had instructions from President Trump to resolve our two nations’ differences through dialogue and diplomacy, if that is possible,” the White House said in a statement. “These issues are very complicated, and Special Envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome. The sides agreed to meet again next Saturday.”
The talks come as Trump has leaned on Iran publicly to curb the violence of its terror proxies across the Middle East, including the Houthis in Yemen. The president warned that Iran would be “in great danger” if the talks failed.
Araghchi wrote an op-ed published in The Washington Post last week that said Iran wants to make a deal and that the regime has been in contact with the Trump administration for weeks. Araghchi also claimed that Iran had upheld the conditions under the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama. Trump had been highly critical of the deal, calling it “one-sided.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency found in February that Iran had blown past the 3.67% enrichment level for uranium set in the nuclear deal. Iran’s uranium stockpile is enriched to around 60%. Weapons-grade uranium is 90%. Iran’s stockpile is also many times larger than the limits set in the deal: approximately 8,294 kilograms to the deal’s cap of 300 kilograms.
