Hegseth declares US will bomb ‘key facilities’ in Iran, says strikes part of efforts to reach nuclear deal

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States will hit Iran hard and bomb “key facilities.”

“President Trump said we’ll be hitting Iran hard, and we will be because Iran has a chance to make a good deal,” Hegseth tells journalists at US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida. “You can see when someone is trying to tap, tap, tap on a deal. Instead, they’re going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran.”

“We don’t have to restart,” Hegseth continues, saying that Pentagon is “prepared to set the terms to ensure we get the kind of deal that President Trump expects.”

“Those strikes, that will happen tonight, they will be strong, they will be clear. If they happen tomorrow night, they will be strong, they will be clear, and throughout Iran has an opportunity to make a deal — that’s the point.”

He also says the pilots of an Apache helicopter that was shot down in the Strait of Hormuz are in “good shape.”