US 'ready' to strike Iran if no nuclear deal agreed, warns Trump's defence chief Hegseth
Mr Hegseth commented on the tensions a day after Trump threatened "major destruction," should the Tehran dictatorship not give up on acquiring nuclear weapons
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon is prepared to carry out any of Donald Trump's orders on Iran amid a standoff over the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear programme.
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As American forces amass in the Gulf, Mr Hegseth commented on the tensions a day after Trump threatened "major destruction" should the Tehran dictatorship not give up on acquiring nuclear weapons.
"They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. We will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department," Mr Hegseth said.
Trump is said to be reviewing options about possible military action with the USS Abraham Lincoln in the region, but is said to be undecided about whether to strike Iran.
The President issued a warning on Wednesday, telling the Ayatollah that if it does not give up on its nuclear ambitions, strikes upon his country would be larger than those conducted by American-Israeli forces in June 2025.
The strikes last year took out three uranium enrichment plants in the nation.
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The President called on Iran's ruling Mullahs to come to the table and negotiate a "fair and equitable deal" that would stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
In response, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, issued a warning to the US by saying it has its "finger on the trigger" should the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group attack the Middle Eastern nation.
Describing the US fleet in the Gulf, Trump said: "Like with Venezuela, it is ready, willing and able to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary."
Taking to social media, he said the country has learnt “valuable lessons” from the June strikes but added hopes remain of a "mutually beneficial, fair and equitable” deal with the United States.
It comes after another Iranian official warned that even a limited US strike would lead to the breakout of war in the Middle East.
Regime advisor Ali Shamkhani wrote: “A limited strike is an illusion. Any military action by the United States, from any location and at any level, will be considered the beginning of a war, and the response will be immediate, comprehensive, and unprecedented - targeting the heart of Tel Aviv and all supporters of the aggressor."
The standoff is the latest flashpoint between the US and the Islamic Republic after the President backed off from striking the nation after it appeared to shelve plans of executing protesters after a recent wave of unrest.
A brutal crackdown from the Ayatollah's regime has seen as many as 30,000 killed in retribution for the worst wave of protests since the nation's Islamic revolution in 1979.
The unnamed official said: "This military build-up - we hope it is not intended for real confrontation - but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran."
They added: "This time we will treat any attack - limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it - as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this."
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Araghchi said: "Conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful."
Alistair Burt, a former Conservative minister, told LBC News's Charlotte Lynch that the President's strategy is unclear in its goals.
Mr Burt told Charlotte: "If [Trump] wanted to achieve a nuclear deal, he walked away from one in 2017 when one had already been agreed.
"But if he wants a new one, then the opportunities have been there. But of course, it does take the Iranians to work on this as well.
On the international response to the threats, Mr Burt said that he thinks the President has questions to answer about why further strikes are necessary.
He told Charlotte: "President Trump would also have to answer why it's necessary to take a further strike against Iran to deal with its nuclear facilities when we thought that had been dealt with some months ago.
"I think, like [Iran's] neighbours in the Gulf, the United Kingdom were looking at this with great concern. Concern because the problem of taking any form of military action is that you never know quite what happens next.
"If the action is designed to promote democracy in Iran and complete the protests that we have seen recently, well, it's hard to see quite how that can be achieved by military activity.
"There is no opposition ready to take power in Iran. There are no signs that the Iranian regime is yet breaking. It is perfectly clear that they do not rule Iran by the consent of the people. But if there is further instability in the region, the United Kingdom will be worried about that, along with others."