US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has again warned Tehran that the Pentagon is “more than prepared” to take action if Iran refuses to negotiate over its nuclear program.
“The President [Donald Trump] has been very clear from the beginning, even before [the planned US military operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025] Midnight Hammer. Iran will not have a nuclear weapons capability. So they can negotiate in that direction or we have other options,” Hegseth told reporters on February 2 during a trip to Florida.
Stressing that military action is not the preferred option, Hegseth added that “[President Trump] doesn’t want to go down that road, I don’t want to go down that road, but it’s our job to be prepared, and that’s why we are prepared, we are more than prepared.”
He also said Iran “has a choice” to negotiate. Speaking to reporters at the White House the day before, President Trump said Iran is “talking seriously” with the United States.
The American leader added that Washington is keeping up the pressure on Tehran.
“We have ships that are heading towards Iran right now, big ships… and we are holding talks with Iran. Let’s see what the outcome will be,” he said.
The US military has deployed a naval strike group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, near the coast of Iran.
President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of military action against Iran in response to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests that erupted across Iran in late December.
The US-based human rights organization HRANA, whose figures Radio Free Europe has repeatedly cited since the start of the violent crackdown in Iran, says the number of confirmed deaths, including those of security forces, is now 6,563, while the number of deaths still under investigation is 17,091. More than 49,000 people have been arrested.
Some media outlets, citing unidentified officials, have reported that the number of victims is much higher
