A moment was captured of Pete Hegseth’s expression as President Donald Trump seemingly placed the blame for the Iran war on his Secretary of War. “Pete, I think you were the first one to say, ‘Let’s do it,’” Trump said.
Trump was speaking of the conflict in Iran at a conference in Tennessee on Monday, where he said, “I called a lot of our great people… and I said, ‘Let’s talk. We’ve 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 then turned to his Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, who was seated to his right, saying, “And 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.”
After this, Hegseth appeared to force a stiff smile as the president continued discussing ongoing talks with Iran, which he claimed had “started last night.”
⚡️Trump on Iran:
Pete Hegseth was the first one to speak up. He said, “Let’s do it.” pic.twitter.com/5EU0EgelwS
— War Intel (@warintel4u) March 23, 2026
“I think they’re very good. They want peace too – they’ve agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know etc., etc., but we’ll see. You have to get it done. But I would say there’s a very good chance,” Trump added.
Trump’s comments at the conference come at a time when the war, now in its fourth week, continues to wreak havoc across the region, sparking economic chaos throughout the world. Meanwhile, the showdown between Trump and Iran over access to the Strait of Hormuz has now entered a critical stage, as experts have warned that the world economy is under “major threat” from the war.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to maintain that they have control of the strait, which sees about 20 percent of the world’s oil passing through. Iran has effectively blocked access through the narrow waterway to anyone but countries that are allied with Iran. Due to this, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol has warned that the world’s economy is under “major threat,” due to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, while saying that “no country will be immune” to its effects.
“This crisis, as things stand, is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,” he said at the National Press Club in Australia‘s capital. He went on to compare the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s, as well as the effects of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible,” Birol said.
“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction. So there is a need for global efforts,” he added, while noting that “at least 40 energy assets in the region are severely or very severely damaged across nine countries.”
On Saturday, the President warned Tehran that it had 48 hours to allow cargo through the global shipping lane “without threat,” saying that if not, he would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants. On Sunday, Iran responded, saying that should the US target their power plants, then the energy infrastructure “across the entire region” would be “irreversibly destroyed.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US and Iran had held “very good and productive” conversations about the “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.” Due to this, the President said he was postponing the plan to hit Iran’s power plants for five days. However, this pause only applied to the energy sites in Iran, and US strikes on the country continue.
Since the war started on February 28, Iran has effectively closed off the strait, which sees approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas pass through. While short disruptions of about two weeks would have limited consequences, should the blockage run longer than four weeks, experts say this could trigger “cascading issues.”
Their findings reveal that the UK is likely to be the worst hit by supply chain shocks of any country in Europe. This would create a “genuine vulnerability that the UK won’t be able to substitute its LNG supply in the short term, leading to higher prices for consumers.
Dr. Jasper Verschuur of Delft University of Technology is one of the authors of the report and told the Daily Mail, “What is unique about the Strait is that there are no alternatives to reroute goods.”
Meanwhile, Trump suggested on Monday that he could jointly run the Strait of Hormuz with the Iranian Ayatollah when it reopens to the world. When he was asked who would be in charge of the Strait in any deal to end the conflict, the president said, “Maybe me, me and… whoever the next ayatollah [is].”
While the war continues, Washington insists it is an overwhelming success, with Hegseth blasting the media and America’s allies last week, accusing them of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The Secretary of Defense lashed out at the press, who he says “want President Trump to fail,” but said that the American people “know better.”
Hegseth also slammed “ungrateful allies in Europe,” claiming that the entire world “should be saying one thing to President Trump: “Thank you.”
However, despite his words, in recent weeks, members of Trump’s cabinet, including Hegseth, have experienced a notable downturn in public esteem. In fact, Hegseth’s net approval rating has plummeted ten points since February 28, the day of the US first struck Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran launched missile strikes on Tuesday on Tel Aviv, just one day after Trump declared that successful peace talks with Iran had been “good and constructive.”
A source told the state-run Fars News Agency that Iran sent multiple waves of missiles over Israel, and added, “Tonight, special events are planned for Tel Aviv and some regional allies of the US and Israel that will completely remove the hope of negotiations from the minds of the aggressors.”
The U.S. ceasefire “drama” and mediators’ deception lasted less than 24 hours. Iran continues its relentless cluster missile bombardment of Israel. Over 1,600 Israelis have been killed in the last 48 hours alone. This latest clip shows cluster bombs raining down on Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/tkHfJH5dDN
— 𝐓𝐌𝐓 (@TMT_arabic) March 24, 2026
Moreover, the country’s missiles triggered air raid sirens in various areas of Israel, including Tel Aviv, where interception blasts were heard, but some missiles still got through. Meanwhile, Iranian missiles also hit Eilat in southern Israel, along with the cities of Dimona and Yeruham. Moreover, residents in the Jerusalem area reported hearing loud explosions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to continue strikes in “both Lebanon and Iran,” saying, “We are smashing the missile program and the nuclear program, and we continue to deal severe blows to Hezbollah.”
“Just a few days ago, we eliminated two more nuclear scientists – and we are still active,” Netanyahu continued.
