Washington DC: Well over three weeks into the Iran war, the question cropped up again: how did the US get involved in the conflict which Israel was desperately seeking?
US President Donald Trump suggested that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was the first senior official to push for military action against Iran, effectively shifting blame as domestic criticism over the escalating Middle East conflict grows.
Speaking at the Memphis Safe Task Force Roundtable in Tennessee on Monday, Trump said he had convening a meeting with key aides, including Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, to deliberate on the Iran crisis.
“I called Pete, I called General Caine. I called a lot of our 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 very close to having a nuclear weapon. We can keep going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60, there’s no end, or we can take a stop and make a little journey into the Middle East and eliminate a big problem,” Trump said, recounting the discussion that led to the decision for strikes.
Trump singled out Hegseth for being the most proactive in advocating for 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 Hegseth close by.
The President’s claim came hours after he announced a temporary pause in hostilities, saying the US and Iran were in the midst of “productive conversations” aimed at a “complete and total resolution” to the West Asia conflict.
Iran, however, swiftly dismissed Trump’s claims on talks.
Sharif’s assertion
On Tuesday, Pakistan expressed its readiness to act as a mediator between the US and Iran.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to social media platform X to state that Pakistan “stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict”.