By Katherine Tinsley
11:48pm PDT, Apr 14, 2025
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Pete Hegseth recently alluded to things escalating between the U.S. and Iran as the Middle Eastern nation reportedly looks to secure nuclear weapons.
The Secretary of Defense confirmed Donald Trump is serious about involving the defense department if talks with Iran don't go well.
Keep reading for the details…
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"He's dead serious that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Pete Hegseth told Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures on Sunday, April 13. "He's said that for 20 years, he's been consistent, that is clear."
"He's dead serious that he wants it done at the negotiating table, he wants it done peacefully, and that's why he's going straight to these talks, he's set that deadline," he added.
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Donald Trump's approach to diplomacy has been criticized, but Pete Hegseth confirmed his boss has a clear vision for the United States' relationship with Iran.
"He's also dead serious that if we can't figure this out at the negotiating table, then there are other options to include my department to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb," Hegseth said in reference to a potential conflict between the two countries.
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Pete Hegseth stressed that Donald Trump's administration wants to prioritize peace.
"We hope we never get there, but what we're doing with the Houthis [in Yemen] and what we're doing in the region, we've shown a capability to go far, to go deep, and to go big," he said.
"We don't want to do that, but if we have to, we will to prevent the nuclear bomb in Iran's hands," Hegseth added.
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Donald Trump explained his hopes for Iran a couple days earlier.
"I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country, but they can't have a nuclear weapon," he said on Friday, April 11, while flying to Florida on Air Force One.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has seemed reluctant to create a deal with the U.S. despite his correspondence with the Trump administration.
