U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth Also Warns of Strikes on Iran's Key Facilities

[Financial News] After U.S. President Donald Trump warned that he would intensify attacks on Iran, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also said key facilities would be bombed.
At United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in Tampa, Florida, on the 10th local time, Hegseth told reporters, "As President Trump has said, we will hit Iran hard, and we will actually do that." He added, "Iran had a chance to make a good deal."
He sharply criticized Iran's lukewarm approach to negotiations and raised the pressure with a figurative warning.
Hegseth said, "You can see someone trying to drag things out at the negotiating table. But what they will face now are bombs falling on key facilities inside Iran."
He stressed, "We do not need to start from scratch," and said the U.S. Department of Defense is ready to use military conditions as a springboard to secure the kind of deal Trump expects.
Earlier that day, Trump told reporters at the White House, "We will attack Iran, and we will hit it very hard," suggesting that the timing of the strike could come later in the day.
Iran immediately pushed back strongly. Ebrahim Azizi, a member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said in response to U.S. threats that "if war begins, it will never be limited to the Middle East," and warned of full-scale retaliation against the United States and its allies.
Meanwhile, Hegseth also commented on the condition of U.S. military Apache helicopter pilots who were shot down and rescued in the Strait of Hormuz, where tensions have recently escalated. He emphasized that the pilots are currently in "good condition."


jjyoon@fnnews.com Yoon Jae-jun Reporter