War Secretary Pete Hegseth says 'We negotiate with bombs' as US moves to deploy soldiers in Iran

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth openly declared America “negotiates with bombs” while providing an update on the Iran war, as the swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office on Tuesday. While President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that the war was over and the U.S. had "won", Hegseth stated that Washington will not allow Tehran to possess a nuclear weapon in any scenario. The president even claimed his officials were in talks with Iranian leaders to settle, and that Hegseth was not happy about winding down the conflict.

At the swearing-in ceremony, Trump took questions from reporters and asked Hegseth to make a statement on the current situation of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Hegseth took to the mike and boasted it was the first time in history that a modern military had been obliterated so quickly. "Iran had a modern military, a modern navy, a modern air force, modern air defenses, leadership," he said, adding that the U.S. "rapidly and historically obliterated," all of it and defeated Tehran from day one with "overwhelming firepower". The air campaign that we’ve conducted, that Israel’s conducted alongside us, was one for the history books," Hegseth said.

He then claimed the U.S. had forced Iran to negotiate, and under no circumstances will Washington allow the development of a nuclear weapon. "And that’s why we see ourselves as part of this negotiation as well. We negotiate with bombs!," the War Secretary stated adding that Iran now has the chance to talk about its future with the U.S. president with the military loitering over the country. He also praised the president for "untying the hands" of the U.S. military to go in and "destroy the enemy as viciously as possible." 

After Hegseth, President Trump came back to the podium, claiming Hegseth wasn't happy when he told him that the war could be settled soon. “You know, the only two people that were quite disappointed," Trump said, referring to the War Secretary and General Dan Raizin Caine. "They were not interested in settlement; they were interested in just winning this thing," he added. The president went on to tell reporters at the Oval Office that the U.S. had "won" the war and Iran had offered him a “very big present” related to oil and gas, without sharing any details. “We’ve won this. This war has been won,” the president said. “They have no leaders left. The leaders are all gone. Nobody knows who to talk to. But we’re actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly," he added.

However, reports suggest that the U.S. may be looking to escalate efforts by deploying thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division in the region.  CNN reported on Tuesday that approximately 1,000 soldiers from the division could be deployed, while The New York Times on Monday shared that 3,000 men could be sent to capture Kharg Island, the terminal through which 90% of Iran's oil passes. Furthermore, Politico suggested a written deployment order was soon expected.