'Can't have a nuclear bomb to wield against the world': Pete Hegseth issues sharp warning to Iran

As West Asia is embroiled in conflict, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reiterated that Iran should give up its nuclear mission. Referencing Donald trump’s vision after in conclusive nuclear deal negotiations between US and Iran mediated by Oman in Geneva, he said “Iran has ability to project power against us and our allies in ways that we can't, we can't tolerate.” During those February rounds, the U.S. demanded a total cessation of uranium enrichment, a demand Ali Khamenei rejected, asserting that “nuclear energy is our undeniable right.”

This isn’t America’s first attack on Iran, in June 2025, US B-2 bombers struck Iranian nuclear facilities viz. Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan during Operation Midnight Hammer. Following that mission, President Trump stated that the sites used for creating nuclear weapons had been “obliterated.” Addressing the current 2026 operations, Hegseth continued: “Ultimately, their nuclear ambitions, which never ceased, must be addressed. We are ensuring they can no longer use a conventional shield of missiles and drones to provide an umbrella for their nuclear pursuits.”

Also read: **Traffic camera tracking led to Khamenei's assassination, reveals Israeli intelligence officer**

He added, “And ultimately, though this tying it back to Midnight Hammer, the president has been willing to make a deal. You can't have a nuclear bomb. Radical Islamists can't have a nuclear bomb that they wield against the world. He gave them every single opportunity. Then we precisely took it away. And even then after that, they didn't have that; they didn't come to the table with a willingness to give it away.”