Talks with Iran are “very real” and “gaining strength” despite claims to the contrary by some Iranian officials, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth affirmed Tuesday.
“On the talks, I can tell you, having been with Steve and Jared and the vice president, Marco and many others yesterday – they are very real, they are ongoing, they’re active and I think gaining strength, and we appreciate that,” Hegseth said, referring to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, respectively.
“Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders,” he said.
Hegseth said “regime change has occurred” in Iran, a point also made by President Trump on Sunday.
Trump argued Iran is currently on its third regime since the war began, and it has “been very reasonable” compared to its predecessors. He said on Monday that Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is representing the new regime in talks with U.S. negotiators.
“Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realize that this new regime is in a better place if they make that deal,” Hegseth said on Tuesday.
“The primary effort is a deal. We want that deal to be accomplished, if at all possible. If not, then we’re prepared to continue,” he warned.
“President Trump doesn’t bluff, and he doesn’t back down. This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last,” he said.
“American firepower is only increasing. Iran’s is decreasing. We have more and more options, and they have less,” he said.
Hegseth said during his press conference that eliminating Iran’s missile program, and ensuring the regime is “never going to have a nuclear weapon,” are “essential objectives” for the United States, but freeing the Strait of Hormuz from Iran’s blockade should be an objective shared by the entire civilized world.
“I think the president’s Truth this morning lays that out very well that the Strait of Hormuz issue, which we’ve set the conditions for success, and we will make sure Iran knows that very clearly, is not just a United States of America problem set,” he said.
“We’ve been willing to lead. President Trump’s led the entire time. But it’s not just us,” he added.
Hegseth talked about visiting American troops involved in Operation Epic Fury over the weekend, although he could not disclose exactly where he traveled for security reasons. He said he was profoundly impressed by the “sheer competency” of the troops, and their dedication to the mission.
“What those Americans said to me, young and old, officer and NCO, male and female, Black and white, was: ‘Let’s finish the mission. Get us even more bombs, bigger bombs, more targets,’” he said.
Iran adjusted its diplomatic position slightly on Monday, abandoning its absolute denials of negotiations to admit that it has received U.S. ceasefire proposals conveyed by third-party states. However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed the American proposals as “unrealistic, illogical, and excessive.”
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