Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that the Pentagon will continue “negotiating with bombs” even as he expressed openness to a U.S.-led peace deal with Iran. In just a few seconds, he proved that he was indeed sulking about President Trump’s new direction with Iran.
Per The Hill, Hegseth made his comments during a White House Cabinet meeting. Partly to acknowledge special envoy Steve Witkoff, and to butter up Trump, he began with, “We pray for a deal, and we welcome a deal and we have the ultimate dealmaker to make it happen.” Then he couldn’t hold his figurative pout back: “But in the meantime, as I said yesterday, the Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs. War is negotiation by other means.”
Just earlier in this week, Trump had mentioned that Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were “the only two people that were quite disappointed” by the idea of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran potentially concluding. “I think this thing’s going to be settled very soon, and they go, ‘Oh, that’s too bad.’ Pete didn’t want it to be settled.” Trump added that ”They were interested in just winning this thing.”
Bullies aren’t happy if you take their victims away
During the same Cabinet meeting, Trump addressed ongoing news reports about U.S. negotiations with Iran. He firmly stated that Tehran, not Washington, is “begging” for a deal. “And anyone who saw what’s happening over there would understand why they want to make a deal,” Trump explained, suggesting Iran is feeling the pressure.
Interestingly, Iran has denied any negotiations with the Trump administration, even as the conflict in the Middle East continues into its fourth week. However, Pakistani mediators have confirmed that a U.S. proposal was indeed delivered to the Iranians, which complicates Iran’s denial a bit.
The military situation on the ground, or rather, from the air, has been intense. Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, provided an update on Wednesday, revealing that the U.S. military has struck over 10,000 targets inside Iran. These operations have reportedly destroyed two-thirds of the country’s naval, missile, and drone production sites.
Hegseth reiterated the military’s commitment, too. “We know that President Trump has given us a clear mission,” he said. “Our capabilities are only going up, and Iran’s are plummeting. We are here to win, and we’re full speed ahead.” Then, of course, he reminded everyone that Operation Epic Fury is not “an endless war.”
Since the beginning, the narrative from the administration about this war has been confusing and absent-minded. However, Hegseth has been very adamant about the US’s need to keep up the attacks. In the past, he has claimed that army families have insisted that he needs to finish the Iran war. He has also been aggressive about controlling a narrative, slamming the press with fake news claims if anyone ever suggested that things were going wrong.
Published: Mar 27, 2026 01:17 pm