US defense secretary's ‘will go deep’ warning to Iran over nuclear deal

Pete Hegseth, the top US defence official, on Sunday described the first, tentative contacts in Oman as "productive" and “a good step.”

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said on Sunday that the country's military was ready to "go deep and to go big" against Iran if a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear ambition wasn't found. The comment came a day after US and Iranian diplomats opened indirect talks in Oman to resolve Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth attends a cabinet meeting at the White House.(Reuters file photo)

Pete Hegseth, the top US defence official, on Sunday described the first, tentative contacts in Oman as "productive" and “a good step.”

In an interview with CBS, he said while President Donald Trump hoped to never have to resort to a military option, the country had the capability.

"We've shown a capability to go far, to go deep and to go big," he added.

He said the US could resort to military action to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear bombs.

"Again, we don't want to do that, but if we have to, we will prevent the nuclear bomb in Iran's hands," he added.

What Trump had said on Iran

Donald Trump said on Wednesday that military action was "absolutely" possible – in conjunction with Israel – if the talks in Oman failed.

“If it requires the military, we're going to have a military,” he told reporters.

"Israel will obviously be very much involved in that, be the leader of that,” he added.

Donald Trump had warned Iran in March that if it didn't make a deal, "there will be bombing".

Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an earlier multi-nation nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018, during his first term in the White House.

Analysts say Iran may now be just weeks away from producing a nuclear weapon.

With inputs from AFP