Trump dismissing responsibility: he says Hegseth supported launch of Operation Epic Fury against Iran

US President Donald Trump said that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke out in favor of conducting Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

He said this during a roundtable discussion in Memphis, Tennessee.

According to Trump, before the operation began, he called Hegseth, as well as General Caine and other representatives of the security agencies.

"I called Pete, I called General Caine, I called a lot of our great people and said, 'Let's talk, we have a problem in the Middle East.' For 47 years, Iran has been a source of terror and came close to having nuclear weapons [...] Pete, I think you were the first to speak up and say, 'Let's do it,'" the US President said.

The next day, during the swearing-in ceremony of the Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump again mentioned Hegseth in the context of the operation. He said that Hegseth and General Caine were disappointed with the possibility of negotiations with Iran.

"The only two people who were disappointed [with the start of negotiations with Iran] - I don't want to say it, but I have to... I say, 'Pete, General Caine, I think it's going to be resolved soon.' And they're like, 'Oh, too bad.' Pete didn't want it to be resolved. They're not interested in a deal, they're interested in winning," Trump said.

Trump has previously stated several times that it was Hegseth who supported the conduct of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.

Recall, US President Donald Trump said that the Iranian leadership allegedly agreed never to create nuclear weapons.