President Donald Trump used a roundtable with military and law enforcement leaders in Memphis to point to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as an early supporter of the U.S. operation against Iran.

What Trump said in Memphis

Trump described calling Hegseth, General Dan Caine and others before the February 28 launch of Operation Epic Fury, saying he wanted to "talk" about a longstanding problem in the Middle East. He framed the decision as a choice between continuing a growing troop commitment and "taking a stop and making a little journey into the Middle East and eliminate a big problem."

He added that Hegseth was "the first one to speak up" in favor of action, and cited Hegseth's line that the U.S. could not let Iran "have a nuclear weapon." Trump also said that talks with Tehran had been "very good and productive," and later suggested private negotiators had met well, saying, "Mr Witkoff and Kushner had them. They went perfectly."

Iran pushed back

Iran denied any negotiations with the United States. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, said no talks took place and called reports of negotiations "fake news." Within hours of the denials, Iran launched a new wave of missile strikes across the Gulf aimed at American and allied targets, which triggered air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas.

How the administration has justified the operation

  • The White House has offered several reasons for joining Israel's attack on Iran, including claims that Tehran had resumed efforts to build a nuclear weapon and posed an imminent threat.
  • This stands alongside the president's earlier claim that last summer's Operation Midnight Hammer had "obliterated" much of Iran's capabilities.
  • Operation Midnight Hammer did include targeted strikes that the administration says achieved key objectives, and the first day of the current campaign resulted in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ending his 47-year role as Iran's supreme leader.

Consequences so far

The fighting has produced regional retaliation, killed 13 U.S. service members to date, and pushed global fuel prices higher after Tehran tightened control around the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments.

Trump said the scale of Iran's responses surprised him and others, but reporting from independent outlets noted that officials had warned such retaliatory attacks were possible.

Hegseth's public role

Pete Hegseth has become a visible face of the conflict, using the Pentagon podium to deliver blunt, hawkish statements. He has spoken about U.S. "lethality" and criticized journalists for not presenting the military campaign in a more positive light.

Bottom line

Trump's comments shift some attention toward Hegseth as an internal advocate for striking Iran, even as Tehran denies talks and continues to respond militarily. The situation has left open questions about how the decision was made, who pushed for it, and how prepared the U.S. was for the regional fallout.