US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the agreement with Iran means it will never possess, seek, buy, or hold nuclear weapons. When the interviewer noted that the Obama-era deal made the same promise, Hegseth responded that the difference is the US negotiated this one from a position of strength.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran in an interview Monday morning, asserting the deal is fundamentally different from the 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) because the Trump administration negotiated 'from a position of strength.'
'This agreement says Iran will never possess nuclear weapons, will never try to obtain them, will never buy them, and will never hold them,' Hegseth told the interviewer. When challenged on the fact that the JCPOA also promised to block Iran's path to a bomb, Hegseth replied: 'The huge difference is that we did it from a place of power.'
The remarks align with a series of Trump administration statements in recent days asserting military pressure — rather than diplomacy alone — drove Iran to accept terms. As The Zioneer reported over the past week, Hegseth previously warned that the US would 'negotiate through bombs' if necessary, and that the US would hit Iran 'hard on American terms.'
The current deal, which Prime Minister Netanyahu has said includes commitments by Iran to remove enriched material and limit missile production, remains unsigned in formal treaty form. Hegseth's confidence signal — reported by Israeli journalist Asaf Rozentzweig (N12) — suggests the administration is emphasizing the coercive leverage that produced the accord, even as critics note that the core non-proliferation promise mirrors the 2015 text that Iran later breached.
3 developments
- DevelopingHegseth sweats through TV interview, body language shows disdain for Trump's Iran deal
- DevelopingTrump administration conducts secret talks with Tehran on new nuclear deal
- DevelopingFormer President Barack Obama comments on emerging US-Iran deal
- DevelopingHegseth: If we have to negotiate through bombs, we'll negotiate through bombs
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