In an exclusive interview on Newsmax, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended Israel’s right to unilaterally attack Iran, adding that the U.S. is committed to protecting its assets in the region.
“Israel felt it needed to act in defense of their nation, and that’s what they did,” Hegseth told “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE” on Saturday before the military parade in Washington honoring the Army’s 250th anniversary.
“And we have said from the beginning, President Trump wanted to pursue a peaceful track but also [was] very clear. Everybody heard him, said it for 20 years. Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. And I think Iran thought they could just continue that.
“And Israel, obviously in its own defense, felt like it had had to move. And so, we have been postured very robustly and strongly to protect our people and our assets in the region, and we will continue to do that.”
Even after a nuclear deal reached by the Obama administration designed to prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon, a deal from which Trump withdrew the U.S. from it in his first term, Hegseth said Iran has been secretly trying to enrich enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb.
“We’ve known that for a long time that they were violating, that they were always in pursuit, and they were even more reflections, many of which some of which I can’t talk about more recently, that showed that they were continued to be in violation,” Hegseth said. “So, this is a serious situation. The sides have been clear. And Israel took unilateral action to try to defend their country.”
Hegseth was asked whether he thinks the conflict between Israel and Iran will escalate.
“Well, as the as the president often says, we’ll see,” he said. “You know, this president has represented quite clearly that if Iran was willing to say they’re not going to pursue [a nuclear weapon] and come to the table, that’s an option they have. We’ll see what happens.”
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