President Donald Trump said Monday that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was the first member of his administration to advocate for military action against Iran as tensions escalated over the regime’s nuclear ambitions.

Trump made the remarks during a public safety roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee, where he described consulting with senior military and national security officials about how to respond to Iran, as reported by The New York Post.

“I called a lot of our great people. We have great people, and I said, ‘Let’s talk. We got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country known as Iran that, for 47 years, has been just a purveyor of terror, and they’re close to a nuclear weapon,'” Trump said.

Image Credit: White House

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The president said Hegseth quickly supported taking 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 added.

Hegseth, seated beside Trump at the event, nodded and gave a faint smile as the president recounted the exchange.

The comments come as U.S. military operations against Iran continue following the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28. The United States has been carrying out joint strikes with Israel targeting Iranian assets.

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According to data from U.S. Central Command, American forces have struck more than 9,000 targets and damaged or destroyed over 140 Iranian ships since the operation began.

The conflict has resulted in casualties among U.S. forces. Thirteen American service members have been killed, and more than 200 have been wounded in the fighting.

Earlier Monday, just before the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange, Trump announced a five-day pause on planned attacks targeting Iranian energy infrastructure.

He said the decision followed what he described as “very good and productive conversations” with Iranian officials.

“We are now having really good discussions,” Trump said. “They started last night, a little bit the night before that.”

U.S. President Trump: “I called Pete, I called General Caine, I called a lot of our great people. We have great people. And I said, Let's talk. We got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country known as Iran that, for 47 years, has been just a purveyor of terror, and they're… pic.twitter.com/ObTuYSafz3

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 23, 2026

“They want peace to– they’ve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know, etc.,” he continued. “We’ll see. You have to get it done. But I would say there’s a very good chance.”

Iranian officials disputed Trump’s characterization of the talks. Iran’s foreign ministry and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bager Ghalibaf denied that negotiations had taken place.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged he had communicated with his Turkish counterpart prior to Trump’s announcement.

Turkey has previously acted as a mediator between the United States and Iran.

Trump did not identify the Iranian official he referenced in connection with the discussions, saying, “I don’t want them to be killed.”

However, Israeli media reports identified Ghalibaf as a possible point of contact, noting that Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were involved in the outreach.

While attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure are paused, U.S. and Israeli operations against other targets remain ongoing.

The conflict has increasingly centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route off Iran’s west coast through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes annually.

Iran has closed the Strait since the conflict began, contributing to a spike in global oil prices, with benchmark prices rising above $100 per barrel.

The situation remains fluid as military operations continue and diplomatic efforts develop in parallel.

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