In the context of what was revealed about some aspects of the US military decision, US President Donald Trump stated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the first to encourage his administration to choose a military solution against Iran, in light of the continuation of broad military operations in coordination with Israel, in conjunction with talk of a possible negotiating opportunity.
Trump made these statements during a public safety roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee, where he explained that he had consulted with senior military leaders about how to deal with escalation in the Middle East, noting that Hegseth was one of the first to call for military action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Trump said: “We have a problem in the Middle East. There is a country known as Iran, and for 47 years it has been a source of terrorism, and it is close to possessing a nuclear weapon.” He added that Hegseth supported the option of a military strike, considering that “Iran cannot be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon,” while the minister merely nodded and smiled while the president spoke.
It is noteworthy that on February 28, the United States began a broad military operation under the name “Fire Rage,” in coordination with Israel, and has since carried out more than 9,000 strikes targeting various locations inside Iran, in addition to destroying or causing damage to more than 140 Iranian ships, according to US Central Command data.
The operations have so far resulted in the killing of 13 American soldiers and the wounding of more than 200 others.
In a notable development, Trump announced before the New York Stock Exchange opened on Monday a temporary five-day suspension of planned attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, revealing “very good and productive talks” with Tehran. However, Iranian officials, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, denied any negotiations, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi acknowledged contacts with his Turkish counterpart before Trump’s announcement.
According to Israeli media reports, Qalibaf may be the person through whom indirect communications were made, at a time when American and Israeli strikes on non-oil targets inside Iran continue.
The Trump administration seeks to allocate about $200 billion to refill US military stocks after these operations, which are considered the largest since the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the field level, the focus of the confrontation has turned to the Strait of Hormuz, which is considered one of the most important oil corridors in the world, through which about 20% of the oil supplies transported by sea pass annually. Iran’s closure of the strait since the beginning of the war has led to global oil prices rising to exceed $100 per barrel.
At the conclusion of his statements, Trump expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement, pointing to a “very good opportunity” to achieve progress, while stressing that Iran has shown a willingness to give up possessing a nuclear weapon, but he stressed the need to translate this into an actual agreement.
