Hegseth says Iran must choose between a deal and 'devastation'
The US Defense Secretary told cadets in Tennessee that Iran faces a choice between a deal at the negotiating table and US military force.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday 17 October that Iran faces a choice between a negotiated deal and US military force, Anadolu Agency reported.
“Iran’s going to have a choice to make real quick about whether they’re going to give those up at the table or face the kind of devastation that America can bring and will bring swiftly if necessary,” Hegseth told Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets at the University of Tennessee.
He accused Tehran of building a large conventional missile arsenal to deter military action, and said Iran “funds the proxies in Hezbollah, funds the proxies in the Houthis in Yemen”.
Hegseth also said the US was working to push its rivals out of the Western Hemisphere, and described the US operation in Venezuela as having “generational implications”, according to Anadolu.
President Trump launched the war with Iran in February, The Washington Post has reported.
The reports reviewed for this story did not include an Iranian response to Hegseth’s remarks.
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