US ready – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US is prepared to recommence strikes on Iran if negotiators fail to reach a deal. The warning comes as President Donald Trump weighs a proposal to extend April’s truce by 60 days, and Iranian officials insist Iran would
America can restart strikes on Iran if a deal falls apart, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday in Singapore, laying down a clear fallback plan as negotiations continue.
Standing at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Hegseth told the audience the United States has the “ability to recommence if necessary” and said the country is “more than capable” of doing so. He added that US stockpiles are “more than suited for that. both there and around the globe. ” describing the readiness as a matter of capability and preparation.
The remarks landed amid uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump will make a final call on a proposal that would extend April’s truce for another 60 days. The day before, Trump said he would hold a meeting to make a “final determination” on the plan. That meeting was held in the Situation Room and lasted for two hours. a White House official said. though it remains unclear whether Trump reached a decision.
For months, Trump has described two major conditions for any arrangement. He has said Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon” and that Iran will open the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most important waterways for trade—without tolls. Those demands sit at the center of what negotiators are trying to square with what Iran says it will and won’t do.
Iran’s position, at least publicly, is tighter than what Washington appears to be pressing for on access to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on state TV that Tehran would open the Strait only after America lifts its blockade on Iranian ships.
The gap between the two sides is sharpening even as signals from negotiations suggest movement. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that an agreement was close but not fully approved, and that the deal does not include nuclear-related issues.
Baghaei’s statement and the reported description of what is or isn’t in the proposal leave the same question hanging over the talks: will Washington’s approach to the Strait and Iran’s conditions tied to the blockade be bridged in time. or will the US revert to the readiness Hegseth described in Singapore?.
As Trump weighs his next step and negotiators push to extend April’s truce for 60 more days, the public timing—and what either side calls “approved” versus “close”—now carries the weight of a threat that can be carried out quickly.
United States Iran Hegseth Trump Iran nuclear Strait of Hormuz truce blockade negotiations Singapore Shangri-La Dialogue