Hegseth: “We’ll negotiate with bombs” until deal

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said talks between the U.S. and Iran are "very real" and that the "primary effort is a deal," while refusing to rule out putting U.S. troops on the ground.

"We would much prefer to get a deal. If Iran was willing to relinquish material they have and ambitions they have, open the strait — that's the goal," he told reporters at a press briefing.

"We don't want to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn't mean it flippantly when I said that in the meantime, we'll negotiate with bombs. Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realize that this new regime, this regime in charge, is in a better place if they make a deal."

Secretary Hegseth said it was important for the U.S. to remain "unpredictable" as he declined to rule out putting American troops on Iranian soil.

"We're not going to foreclose any option," he said. "You can't fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do — to include boots on the ground."

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that about 65% of Americans believe the Trump administration will order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran, while just 7% support the idea.

"Our adversary, right now, thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are. So, if we needed to, we could execute those options," he said. "Or maybe we don't have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work. Or maybe there's a different approach. But the point is to be unpredictable in that, certainly not let anybody know what you're willing to do or not do."

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