U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has won the Iran war and is claiming that there’s a “recent regime” in place in Tehran.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would comply with a “double-sided” ceasefire with Iran that can see him hold off from further attacks for 2 weeks in exchange for Tehran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump made the announcement on social media lower than two hours before his deadline for what he threatened could be the destruction of Iran’s “civilization.” He said it got here after conversations with Pakistani mediators who had been pursuing an end to the war.
Iran’s airforce and missile system has been destroyed, Hegseth said Wednesday, lower than every week after Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet.
“We were locked and loaded. They couldn’t defend against it,” Hegseth said.
While Iran may “shoot here and there” but they will “not construct missiles,” Hegseth said.
“They’ll still shoot, we all know that” he said.
In a social media post on Wednesday morning, Trump said the U.S. had determined that Iran had “undergone what will likely be a really productive Regime Change!”
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Hegseth also said a “recent regime” was in place in Iran.
On Feb. 28, the primary day of the war, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes. He was promptly replaced by his son Mojtaba Khamenei. U.S. and Israeli strikes also targeted and killed several other top Iranian officials.
“This recent regime was out of options and out of time, so that they cut a deal,” Hegseth said.
Tuesday’s ceasefire deal also included an agreement on nuclear material, Hegseth said.
“Under the terms, any nuclear material they shouldn’t have will likely be removed,” he said, without elaborating further.
Nonetheless, Trump said there could be “no enrichment of uranium” and “america will, working with Iran, dig up and take away the entire deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.’”
The U.S. will even discuss sanctions and tariff relief with Iran, Trump said.
Nonetheless, he added that any nation selling weapons to Iran “will likely be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to america of America, 50%, effective immediately.”
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, said Trump had laid out three objectives – destroy ballistic missile capability, destroy the Iranian navy and destroy their defence industrial capability.
The U.S. military had achieved these objectives, he said.
EU and NATO leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, issued a joint statement on Wednesday, calling for “quick progress towards a substantive negotiated settlement.”
“The goal must now be to barter a swift and lasting end to the war inside the coming days. This could only be achieved through diplomatic means,” the joint statement said.
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