U.S. and Iran Hold Nuclear Negotiations; Hegseth Says Military Option Remains Available

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on May 30 that the United States is prepared to resume military strikes on Iran if negotiators cannot reach an agreement. He spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Asia’s main annual forum for defense ministers and military chiefs.

“Our ability to recommence if necessary … we are more than capable,” Hegseth told the audience. “Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we’re in a very good place,” he added. Hegseth said the United States has not shifted its focus away from the Asia-Pacific region even while fighting Iran.

“We can do two things at one time,” he said. The Pentagon chief described President Donald Trump as “patient” and said the president wants a “great deal” that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. On May 29, Trump said he would meet inside a secure White House room to make a “final determination” on a proposal that would extend an early-April truce by another 60 days.

Negotiators from Washington and Tehran continued efforts on May 30 to bridge the remaining differences that block a permanent settlement. The war, launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and raised global energy prices after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Images from the conflict include a residential building struck in Tehran on March 23, pro-government demonstrators holding a portrait of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on May 4, and a billboard in Valiasr Square on May 28 that showed President Trump alongside the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Sailor directing an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the deck of the USS George H. W. Bush on May 6 illustrated ongoing naval operations supporting what the Navy has called Operation Epic Fury.