Hegseth: We are ready to resume strikes on Iran if no agreement is reached

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that the United States is prepared to resume strikes on Iran if an agreement cannot be reached, as negotiators from Washington and Tehran work to overcome key obstacles blocking a deal.

Speaking in Singapore, he said: “Our ability to resume strikes if necessary… we are more than capable of that.”

He added: “Our stockpiles are more than sufficient for that, whether there or across the world, so we are in a very strong position.”

Hegseth emphasized, in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s leading defense forum bringing together defense leaders, senior military officials, and diplomats, that the United States has not turned its back on the Asia-Pacific region despite its involvement in a conflict with Iran.

He added: “We can do two things at once. We are significantly strengthening our defense industrial base so that we will soon be producing two, three, or four times the amount of ammunition, ensuring all our operational plans around the world are properly funded.”

The Defense Secretary said that US President Donald Trump is “patient” and wants to strike a “big deal” that ensures Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon.

Trump said on Friday that he would hold a meeting in a secure room at the White House to take a “final decision” on a proposal to end the war with Iran, which would extend the ceasefire reached in early April by another 60 days, giving negotiators time to reach a lasting end to the conflict.

The war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and triggered a global economic crisis by driving up energy prices after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.