US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a speech on Saturday, 17 October 2026, to Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and new Army recruits at the University of Tennessee, said the Islamic Republic must very soon decide whether to give up its nuclear ambitions at the negotiating table or face the ruin that the United States will swiftly bring down on it if necessary.
Hegseth accused the Islamic Republic of building a large arsenal of conventional missiles, alongside its nuclear program, to deter military action against itself. He said American military strength is the condition for bringing rivals to the negotiating table, and added that Tehran finances its proxy groups, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis, and that Washington has tried to prevent attacks on American forces and shipping.
A warning amid disagreement over the continuation of the war
The US war secretary's remarks came on a day when JD Vance, the US vice president, implicitly spoke of a disagreement with Donald Trump over the war with the Islamic Republic, saying the final decision rests with the president. The day before, in Georgia, Trump had said the war with the Islamic Republic will end very soon.
Hegseth described US policy toward the Islamic Republic as part of the Trump administration's effort to restore American power, an effort that, he said, also includes confronting drug cartels and limiting the influence of the Islamic Republic, China and Russia in Latin America.
The nuclear file and the Strait of Hormuz
The warning comes as recent satellite images show that the entrances to the Kolang Gaz La mountain tunnels near Natanz remain blocked with earth, and as the IRGC has raised tension in the Persian Gulf waters by attacking tankers and declaring the Strait of Hormuz "closed".
The US war secretary warned the Islamic Republic: either give up the nuclear program at the negotiating table, or face swift US military action.
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