Hegseth: Trump ‘Laser‑Focused’ on Iran Deal ‘Or They Face the War Dept’

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that President Trump remains “laser-focused” on securing what he described as a “great deal” with Iran, while warning that Tehran could face renewed U.S. military action if negotiations collapse.

“They can either do this now through a deal, and we think we’re in a good place to make that deal, or they can deal with the War Department,” Hegseth told reporters in Singapore during a press availability following the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.

“We are prepared — we’re postured even stronger today than we were on day one — to address it that way if we have to, but he’d prefer not to,” Hegseth added, referring to Trump’s preference for a diplomatic resolution.

The remarks came one day after President Trump convened a roughly two-hour Situation Room meeting with senior advisers regarding a proposed framework agreement with Iran that would reportedly extend the fragile ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and establish a 60-day negotiating window for additional talks over Tehran’s nuclear program and other unresolved disputes.

Despite Trump stating beforehand that he would make a “final determination” regarding a possible agreement, no formal decision was announced following Friday’s meeting. White House officials later stressed that Trump would only support a deal that satisfies his “red lines,” including permanently preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Speaking before departing Singapore, Hegseth repeatedly stressed that Trump remains committed to diplomacy but only if Tehran agrees to terms Washington considers enforceable and lasting.

“Any deal that the president is willing to make, he’s only going to make it if he believes it’s a great deal for our country and the security of the world,” Hegseth said.

“And only one president was willing to lay it out on the line and ensure after 47 years that Iran is not capable of having a nuclear weapon,” he continued, adding that Trump’s “goalposts haven’t shifted at all.”

Hegseth also suggested the administration believes Tehran is moving closer to Washington’s demands even as the United States continues maintaining its military and economic pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

“Iran knows very, very clearly what our expectations are, and that’s on the negotiating team to deliver,” Hegseth said.

“They’re coming in our direction. The talks have been productive. I think they know where it needs to go.”

The Pentagon chief separately stressed the United States retains overwhelming military capability should negotiations collapse.

“Our ability to recommence if necessary is that we are more than capable,” Hegseth said, adding U.S. stockpiles are “more than suited” for renewed operations both in the Middle East and globally.

The remarks came as tensions remained elevated around the Strait of Hormuz despite ongoing negotiations. Oman’s Maritime Security Centre issued a warning Saturday after a suspected floating naval mine was detected in the strategic waterway, urging vessels to exercise “utmost caution.”

The alert came after CENTCOM warned vessels involved in mine-laying activity in and around the Strait of Hormuz could face U.S. military action amid ongoing efforts to secure and maintain safe maritime transit through the strategic waterway.

Iranian lawmakers meanwhile reportedly discussed legislation aimed at formalizing Tehran’s “sovereignty” claims over the critical shipping corridor — a position directly at odds with the Trump administration’s insistence that the waterway remain open to unrestricted global shipping.

Hegseth also clarified Saturday that the U.S. naval blockade tied to the conflict remains active while negotiations over reopening the Strait continue.

“The blockade is very much still in place,” Hegseth said, later adding that the Strait would ultimately become “an open strait, a toll-free strait that the entire world can use.”

President Trump made clear once again Friday that any final agreement with Tehran must include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted global shipping, the removal of remaining Iranian naval mines, and a permanent end to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons ambitions.

“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social.

Iranian officials, however, continued publicly pushing back against the administration’s characterization of the negotiations while signaling skepticism toward Washington’s demands.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Friday that Tehran remains “focused on the end of the war” and is “not discussing the details of the nuclear plan at this point.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf likewise rejected U.S. guarantees, warning that Tehran has “no trust in guarantees or words — only actions are the measure.”