WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the U.S. military had been prepared to carry out President Donald Trump's threat to end Iran's "whole civilization" if a ceasefire deal had not been reached.
When asked during a Pentagon press conference about Trump's threat that "a whole civilization will die" if no deal was reached, Hegseth said, "We had a target set, locked and loaded, of infrastructure, bridges, power plants."
"(Trump) ultimately said, 'We can take it all from you. Your ability to export energy will be taken away and the United States military has the ability to strike those things with impunity.' That type of threat is what brought them to the place where they effectively said, 'Hey, OK, we want to cut this deal,'" Hegseth said.
Trump threatened on social media Tuesday morning that Iran's "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." He had set an 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday) deadline for Iran to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington and Tehran reached a two-week ceasefire roughly two hours ahead of Trump's deadline and are expected to start talks for a final peace deal. Trump said Tuesday that a 10-point proposal from Iran "is a workable basis on which to negotiate."
Hegseth added that any nuclear material Iran "should not have" would be removed under the ceasefire terms announced Tuesday, though Iran's own statement confirming the ceasefire made no reference to that provision.
"Under the terms, any nuclear material they ... should not have, will be removed," Hegseth said, noting that the United States had won "a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield." ■