US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday issued one of the Trump administration's starkest warnings to Iran, declaring that Washington would continue military strikes until Tehran agrees to President Donald Trump's nuclear terms — and that if necessary, the US would 'negotiate with bombs.' Speaking at US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, Hegseth signalled that further military action was imminent and already planned.

The Warning from CENTCOM

After receiving operational briefings from CENTCOM commanders, Hegseth told reporters that strikes on Iran would not stop until a nuclear agreement was finalised. 'Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said, 'We will be hitting Iran hard, and we will be,' he said. He accused Tehran of repeatedly delaying negotiations despite what he described as a fully developed diplomatic path offered by Washington.

'As President Trump said, they've been tap-tap-tapping,' Hegseth said. 'Instead, they're gonna have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America.' He framed the military campaign as a tool to strengthen diplomacy rather than replace it, arguing that sustained pressure was necessary to secure the kind of deal Trump expects.

Project Freedom and the Strait of Hormuz

Hegseth also disclosed new details about what he called 'Project Freedom' — an operation aimed at keeping commercial shipping lanes open through the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing confrontation with Iran. According to the secretary, more than 100 million barrels of oil have moved through the strategic waterway under US protection.

'The United States of America controls the Strait of Hormuz,' Hegseth said. He added that American forces had enforced a blockade against Iranian maritime trade, claiming that nearly 140 vessels attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports had been stopped, and that at least one additional tanker had been disabled after violating the blockade.

Iran's Degraded Military Capabilities

The secretary argued that recent US operations had significantly weakened Iran's military. 'Add that to what the United States military with Central Command did to their navy, to their air force, to their air defences, to their power projection capabilities,' he said. 'We know exactly on this ledger who's on the strong end and who is not.'

Asked whether future strikes could target bridges, electrical infrastructure, or other civilian-adjacent facilities, Hegseth declined to provide operational details but pushed back against suggestions that US actions were indiscriminate. 'We will hit them hard on our terms, on the targets that improve the environment for us to operate in and undermine the capabilities that Iran wants to have,' he said.

Iran Still Has a Choice, Hegseth Says

Despite the combative language, Hegseth repeatedly insisted Iran retained the option of a negotiated settlement. 'Iran has an opportunity to make a deal. President Trump is a deal maker, the best in the world. He's prepared to make that deal. Iran would be wise to take it,' he said.

This comes amid months of intermittent US-Iran nuclear talks that have repeatedly stalled over the scope of Tehran's nuclear programme and the sequencing of sanctions relief. The Trump administration has made preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon the central pillar of its Middle East strategy. Notably, Hegseth's remarks represent one of the most explicit public acknowledgements yet that military operations are being calibrated to extract diplomatic concessions.

What Comes Next

With Hegseth signalling that CENTCOM operations were imminent on the night of his remarks, all eyes are now on whether Tehran will move toward a deal or absorb further strikes. The administration has not publicly detailed a ceiling for military action, leaving the scope of potential escalation uncertain. Analysts will be watching whether Iran's response shifts the diplomatic calculus or deepens the confrontation.