Trump Says Hegseth Was The ‘first One To Speak Up’ In Favor Of Iran War In Latest Shift

President Donald Trump appeared to effort to pin nan blasted for nan Iran conflict connected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Monday.

Speaking astatine a roundtable event for nationalist subject and rule enforcement leaders successful Memphis, Tennessee, nan president said of nan circumstances starring up to nan motorboat of Operation Epic Fury connected February 28: “I called Pete, I called General [Dan] Caine, I called a batch of our awesome group – we person a batch of awesome group – and I said, ‘Let’s talk.’

“‘We’ve sewage a problem successful nan Middle East. We person a country, known arsenic Iran, that has for 47 years been conscionable a purveyor of panic and they’re very adjacent to having a atomic weapon.

“‘We tin support going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60 pinch nary end, aliases we tin return a extremity and make a small travel into nan Middle East and destruct a large problem.’

“And Pete, I deliberation you were nan first 1 to speak up and you said, ‘Let’s do it because you can’t fto them person a atomic weapon.’ So we are now having really bully discussions. They started last, er, night, a small bit, nan nighttime earlier that…”

The president’s declare earlier successful nan time that members of his management had held “very bully and productive” ceasefire talks pinch Tehran was dismissed by nan Iranian regime, successful ironically Trumpian terms, arsenic “fake news.”

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, said: “No negotiations person been held pinch nan U.S., and clone news is utilized to manipulate nan financial and lipid markets and flight nan quagmire successful which nan U.S. and Israel are trapped.”

Asked astir Iran’s denial, nan president said earlier boarding Air Force One: “Well, they’re going to person to get themselves amended nationalist relations people. We’ve had very beardown talks. Mr [Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner had them. They went perfectly.”

Iran responded by launching a fresh activity of rocket strikes connected America and Israel’s allies crossed nan Gulf Monday evening, triggering aerial ambush sirens successful Tel Aviv and beyond and serving arsenic a further situation to Trump’s resolve.

The management has fixed a assortment of different justifications for its determination to subordinate Israel’s onslaught connected Iran, including claiming that Tehran had resumed attempts to build a atomic explosive and posed an imminent threat to nan U.S., contempt Trump claiming to person “obliterated” their capabilities pinch targeted strikes during past summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer.

The strikes did win successful their superior nonsubjective by killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei connected nan first time of nan operation, ending his 47-year reign arsenic ultimate leader.

However, nan hostilities person led to retaliatory strikes connected targets crossed nan region, nan sidesplitting of 13 U.S. work members to date, and soaring world substance prices aft Tehran placed a chokehold connected nan Strait of Hormuz, done which one-fifth of nan world’s lipid is shipped.

Before arriving successful Memphis Monday, Trump claimed nan U.S. could not person anticipated Iran’s consequence to nan strikes, telling reporters: “Look astatine nan measurement Iran attacked unexpectedly each of those countries surrounding them. That was not expected to – cipher was moreover reasoning astir it.”

But Reuters has antecedently reported that nan president was warned that precisely that could happen should he attack.

For his part, Hegseth has go nan nationalist look of nan conflict, delivering fierce rhetoric from his lectern successful nan Pentagon briefing room, boasting astir U.S. “lethality” and rebuking journalists for being insufficiently affirmative successful their sum of nan devastation.