Pentagon chief says Trump still aiming for deal with Iran

WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on June 16 that President Donald Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran even as hostilities have escalated between US ally Israel and Tehran, while a White House aide said separately that Washington was not attacking Iran.

“Of course,” Mr Hegseth said on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime show when asked if Mr Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.

“We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that’s what happens here,” Mr Hegseth said.

In a social media post on June 16, Mr Trump said “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran”, citing what he said was the country’s rejection of a deal to curb nuclear weapons development.

Israel attacked Iran on June 13,

and since then the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, in five days, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed.

Israel says it aims to eliminate what it calls threats posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.

The air war between Iran and Israel has raised further alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023.

Washington has thus far maintained it is not involved in Israeli attacks on Iran and warned Tehran not to attack US interests or personnel in the region.

Mr Hegseth said on Fox News: “We’re vigilant, we’re prepared, and we have messaged… consistently from the beginning that we’re in the region to defend our people and our assets.”

White House aide Alex Pfeiffer took to social media platform X to deny online claims that the US was attacking Iran.

“This is not true. American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed,” Mr Pfeiffer said. REUTERS