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US Defense Secretary Hegseth warns America is ready to restart attacks on Iran if ceasefire deal cannot be reached
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a stark warning that the United States is prepared to resume military operations against Iran if negotiations fail to produce a ceasefire agreement. The statement comes as Trump outlined three non-negotiable demands including Iran giving up nuclear weapons ambitions, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and clearing all sea mines from the waterway.
In the most explicit military threat to emerge from the ongoing US-Iran standoff, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has declared that the United States is ready to restart attacks on Iran if a ceasefire deal cannot be reached. The warning, reported by GB News, significantly raises the stakes in negotiations that have already been described as stalled.
Hegseth's statement comes alongside President Trump's formal outline of three non-negotiable demands for any ceasefire extension. Iran must agree to never possess a nuclear weapon, the Strait of Hormuz must be fully reopened to international shipping, and all mines planted in the strategic waterway must be completely destroyed.
The Iranian response has been defiant. Officials in Tehran have stated categorically that the country's nuclear programme is not up for negotiation, creating a fundamental impasse on the first and arguably most important of Trump's three conditions. Iran maintains that discussions should focus on ending the war rather than the nuclear issue.
The threat to resume military operations carries particular weight given the context. The US-Iran conflict has entered its fourth month, with significant economic consequences on both sides. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global energy supplies and driven up fuel prices worldwide, affecting Trump's domestic support base.
For the international community, Hegseth's warning introduces a binary outcome to the negotiations: either a deal is reached on American terms, or military hostilities resume. This framing leaves little room for the kind of incremental diplomatic progress that has characterised the talks so far and puts enormous pressure on both sides to make concessions they have so far refused to consider.