Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing possible options to President Donald Trump as he decides next steps on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes, an action that could risk dragging America into a wider war in the Middle East.
Trump would not say whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Tehran warned before that it would be greeted with strong retaliation.
Israel has struck multiple Iranian nuclear facilities in the last several days but one of its key uranium production sites, Fordo, requires the deep penetrating munition.
What Did Trump Say?
The US president was asked if the US was moving closer to striking Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump said, “I can’t say that … You don’t seriously think I’m going to answer that question.”
“You don’t know that I’m going to even do it. You don’t know. I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
According to Al Jazeera, Trump said, “I can tell you this – Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate. And I said, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me before – all this death and destruction?’ Why didn’t you negotiate? I said to the people, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country.'”
Trump added that it's not "too late" for Iran to give up its nuclear program as he continues to weigh direct U.S. involvement in Israel's military operations aimed at crushing Tehran's nuclear program.
Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier Wednesday warned that the United States that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them" and that his country would not heed to Trump's call for Iran to back down.
"I say good luck," Trump said when asked about the supreme leader's refusal to surrender.
What Did Hegseth Say?
Hegseth was on Capitol Hill for the last of his series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything from a ban on transgender troops to his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans earlier this year.
In questioning before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth said "maximum force protection" was being provided for U.S. troops in the Middle East and that it is Trump's decision whether to provide Israel a "bunker buster" bomb to strike at the core of Iran's nuclear program, which would require U.S. pilots flying a B-2 stealth bomber. He would not indicate what the U.S. may do next.
"They should have made a deal. President Trump's word means something -- the world understands that. And at the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options. And that's precisely what we're doing," Hegseth said, according to AP.
The US has shifted significant numbers of refueling tanker and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond to the escalating conflict, such as supporting possible evacuations, or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect US personnel and airbases.
(With AP inputs)
