US Secretary of War Hegseth: 'Iran will not have a nuclear weapon'

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addressed journalists in a news conference on Friday morning, stating that “ultimately, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon”. 

The secretary announced a “new phase” in the war, where Iran has an “important choice” to make a deal with the United States. 

He also shared updates to the “ironclad” US blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the US offensive on Iranian ships outside of the region.

“No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the US Navy,” the Secretary added.

Hegseth said that the US would be willing to uphold the blockade “as long as it takes” in order for Iran to accept a deal, which would entail “[abandoning] a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways”.

He also called on US allies and European countries to take up a proactive role in intervening in the Strait of Hormuz, instead having “fancy conferences in Europe”.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran is not actively developing a nuclear weapon and does not pose a nuclear threat.