Investing.com – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that the U.S. had secured a “decisive” military victory over Iran, arguing that Tehran’s missile program had been largely destroyed.
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In a live briefing, Hegseth said Iran can “no longer build missiles” and no longer had a military industrial base. He added that Iran’s military had been rendered “ineffective for years to come.”
Hegseth’s comments came after the U.S. and Iran reached a deal to end fighting for two weeks on Tuesday. Trump had earlier threatened to eradicate Iranian “civilization” if the country did not open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
In one of his first social media posts since reaching the ceasefire, President Donald Trump pledged to work Iran, saying the U.S. had determined that Tehran has “gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!” Weeks of American attacks on Iran have resulted in the deaths of several top officials in the country, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, although media reports have suggested that Tehran has replaced these with other like-minded leaders.
Trump added that “there will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried […] Nuclear ’Dust.’” Reducing Iran’s ability to build and enrich a nuclear weapon has been among the stated reasons for the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran in late February.
Iran “is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance,” Trump claimed.
Earlier, U.S. Vice President JD Vance called the deal between the U.S., Iran, and Israel a “fragile truce,” as strikes continued to be reported across the Persian Gulf.
Speaking at an event in Hungary, Vance suggested that the accord was being misrepresented within Iran, although he did not go into more detail about the claim. However, Vance said if Iran negotiates in “good faith,” a more permanent halt to hostilities may be found.
“That’s a big if. And ultimately, it’s up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision,” Vance said.
Pakistan mediates ceasefire
Trump said on social media that the ceasefire followed conversations with leaders from Pakistan, which has served as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran. He added that the U.S. received a 10-point proposal from Iran which provides a workable basis for negotiations, and reiterated his claims that Washington had “already met and exceeded all Military objectives” and the “two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran would “cease their defensive operation” and would make “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz possible if shipping is done in coordination with the Iranian military. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited U.S. and Iranian officials to Islamabad for talks on Friday. Vance did not specify if he would be attending the negotiations, but said Trump is “impatient to make progress” in the discussions.
Trump said Iran had agreed to much of the 15 points reportedly put forward in a U.S. peace proposal, and will be discussing “Tariff and Sanctions relief.” He also warned that any country supplying military weapons to Iran will face immediate 50% tariffs “on any and all goods sold” to the U.S.
“There will be no exclusions or exemptions,” Trump said.
Israel, who launched a joint assault on Iran with the U.S. in late February, backed Trump’s decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. However, the comment did not include Lebanon, where Iran-aligned Hezbollah militants have been targeted by Israel.
The agreement offers some space for both sides to hash out a long-term peace deal, halting a war which, beyond the military and humanitarian costs, many observers feared was on track to drive up inflationary pressures and weigh on the global economy.
Still, media reports have said new military and drone strikes hit areas in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday morning. The United Arab Emirates has reportedly said that its air defenses were firing at incoming Iranian missile strikes, just hours after Tehran, the U.S. and Israel had agreed to a temporary ceasefire. The Associated Press reported that the UAE did not provide specific details about where the attack was happening.
Kuwait has also intercepted Iranian drones targeting energy infrastructure in the country, the AP said.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television also said an oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island had been attacked, although it did not say who had launched the strike.
U.S. pledges to help facilitate Hormuz crossings
Elsewhere, Hegseth said the Strait of Hormuz was now open, and the U.S. military would stay in the area to ensure that Iran complies with the ceasefire.
Trump previously said the U.S. will be “helping with the traffic buildup” in the strait, a narrow waterway off of Iran’s southern coast through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, adding “[t]here will be lots of positive action” and “[b]ig money will be made.”
“We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just “hangin’ around” in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will,” Trump wrote.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, sank sharply, falling below the $100 a barrel threshold. But the contract, which has rocketed higher as traders fretted over a weeks-long effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, remains well above pre-war levels.
Worries have abounded that a prolonged shuttering of the strait could impact crucial energy supplies to countries around the world.
Analysts suggested that investors will now be closely monitoring supply flows through the strait, with reports suggesting that some ships are still uncertain whether the waterway is safe to navigate. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian navy has told ships anchored near the strait that they will still need permission from Iran to cross.
“Further price direction will hinge on whether talks translate into a durable agreement and a sustained normalisation of flows through the strait, with volatility likely to persist during negotiations later this week,” analysts at ING including Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson said in a note.
Equity markets in several Asian countries, many of which are heavy importers of oil and gas from the Strait of Hormuz, shot up on Wednesday. Shares in Europe — which uses natural gas from the Persian Gulf, where energy infrastructure has been targeted by Iranian strikes — also gained, as did U.S. stock futures.
(Ambar Warrick and Vlad Schepkov contributed reporting.)