Pentagon chief warns US ready to resume Iran strikes as diplomatic talks stall
Amidst high-stakes nuclear negotiations, the United States has signalled it possesses sufficient stockpiles to restart hostilities with Iran, while concurrent diplomatic efforts between Israel and Lebanon face severe ground-level violence.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated on Saturday that the United States is "more than capable" of resuming military attacks on Iran should a nuclear agreement fail to materialise. Speaking at Asia’s premier defence summit in Singapore, Hegseth cited sufficient weapon stockpiles as evidence of American readiness to recommence hostilities both regionally and globally. The comments were delivered as negotiators from Washington and Tehran continued efforts to bridge major differences blocking a potential deal.
The Pentagon chief emphasised that President Donald Trump remains "patient" but insists any agreement must satisfy specific red lines and be beneficial to America. A White House official confirmed that the President concluded a two-hour Situation Room meeting with aides, reiterating that he will only finalise a deal that meets all conditions. This stance comes as the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on an Iranian agency tasked with controlling shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, part of an ongoing economic pressure campaign.
Tensions in the broader Middle East have intensified concurrently with these diplomatic efforts. Military officials from Israel and Lebanon held their first productive talks in decades in Washington on Friday, described by Pentagon second-in-command Elbridge Colby as a security track to support ongoing peace talks. Colby noted these military-to-military discussions would inform the State Department-led political track scheduled for the following week.
Despite the diplomatic engagement, violence on the ground has escalated. The Israeli military reported intercepting several projectiles launched from Lebanon, with one striking near Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, though no injuries were reported. Simultaneously, Israeli strikes in three areas of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Friday killed 11 people, including a rescuer and a Syrian national, and wounded eight others, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Further complicating the security landscape, the United States military denied reports that Iranian forces had downed a US aircraft. Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned US strikes on the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and expressed solidarity with Oman after President Trump threatened to "blow them up". In a separate development, the United Nations added Israel to its blacklist of perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict zones.
