Pentagon signals return to military pressure if Iran breaks deal terms

The United States will resume military action against Iran and reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports if Tehran does not comply with its recently agreed arrangement with Washington, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

“The president has pointed out that we will be prepared to recommence if, underneath the timeline of these talks, Iran does not do what it says it's going to do,” Hegseth said in Brussels after meeting NATO defence ministers.

“If Iran doesn't comply, then we're more than able to reimpose an ironclad blockade,” he added.

US President Donald Trump also warned that Washington could return to military strikes if the final agreement with Iran does not meet US expectations.

“It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their heads. I don’t like it if they don’t behave. We’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France.

By Vafa Guliyeva