US President Donald Trump appeared to shift responsibility for the decision to launch military strikes against Iran onto his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as the conflict entered its fourth week and scrutiny over Washington’s role deepened.
Speaking at a public roundtable of the Memphis Safe Task Force on Monday, Trump said that Hegseth had been the first senior official to push for military action.
“Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up and you said, ‘Let’s do it because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,’”Trump said, with the Defence Secretary seated beside him.
The remarks have drawn attention in Washington, where debate continues over who within the administration advocated the military campaign against Iran.
Trump’s comments add to a series of evolving explanations from officials regarding how the decision to strike was reached.
Trump said he had consulted multiple senior figures before authorising the operation. “I called Pete. I called General Caine. I called a lot of our great people,” he said, describing discussions centred on what he characterised as an escalating threat from Iran.
Trump says US and Iran are talking; Tehran denies talks
Meanwhile, uncertainty persists over claims of diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran.
Trump stated that the United States was in discussions with Iran and indicated he had delayed, by five days, plans to target Iranian power infrastructure, an action he had earlier threatened unless Tehran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
The President said the pause followed “very good” talks conducted over the weekend by his envoys, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, with unnamed Iranian officials. “We are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal,” Trump told reporters, while cautioning that no outcome was guaranteed.
Iran, however, rejected the assertion of talks. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said no negotiations had taken place and accused the United States of spreading “fake news” to influence oil markets and deflect from the ongoing conflict.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry similarly dismissed Trump’s remarks as an attempt to manage energy prices and gain time for military planning.