US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US has won the war on Iran and says there is a “new regime” in Tehran.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would agree to a “two-sided” deal with Iran that would see him stop further attacks for two weeks in order for Tehran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump made the announcement on social media less than two hours before the deadline for what he threatened to be the destruction of Iran’s “civilization”. He said this happened after talks with Pakistani mediators who were trying to end the war.
Iran’s air force and missile systems have been destroyed, Hegseth said Wednesday, less than a week after Iran shot down a U.S. military jet.
“We were locked and loaded. They couldn’t defend themselves,” Hegseth said.
While Iran may “fire here and there” it “can’t build missiles anymore,” Hegseth said.
“They can shoot, we know that,” he said.
In a statement posted on social media Wednesday morning, Trump said the US has determined that Iran “has gone through what will be a very productive State transition!”
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Hegseth also claimed that a “new regime” existed in Iran.
On February 28, the first day of the war, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli strikes. He was soon replaced by his son Mojtaba Khamenei. US and Israeli strikes have also targeted and killed other senior Iranian officials.
“This new regime was out of options and out of date, so they cut the deal,” Hegseth said.
Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement also included a deal on nuclear weapons, Hegseth said.
“Under the terms, any nuclear material they shouldn’t have will be removed,” he said, without elaborating.
However, Trump said “there will be no uranium enrichment” and “the United States, in cooperation with Iran, will dig up and remove all the nuclear ‘Dust’ bodies buried deep (B-2 Bombers).”
The US will also discuss sanctions and tariff relief with Iran, Trump said.
However, he added that any nation that sells weapons to Iran “will be charged immediately, on any goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately.”
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said that Trump has set three goals – to destroy the capability of ballistic missiles, to destroy the Iranian navy and to destroy their defense industrial capacity.
He said the American military has achieved these goals.
EU and NATO leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, issued a joint statement on Wednesday, calling for “rapid progress in resolving the issues through dialogue.”
“The aim now must be to negotiate a quick and permanent solution to the war in the coming days. This can only be achieved through diplomatic means,” the joint statement said.
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