Spanish
Washington, June 18 (EFE).- U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth refused this Wednesday to confirm the possibility of an imminent bombing of his country on Iran, during a hearing in the Senate in which he avoided directly answering whether President Donald Trump has requested plans for entry into the conflict between Israel and Tehran.
"Whether or not I had requested (the plans), I would not reveal it in this forum," said the Pentagon leader before the Armed Forces Committee of the Upper House of Congress.
Minutes earlier, Trump left open the possibility of a military attack against Iran. "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," the Republican responded to questions from the press at the White House about a possible intervention.
The leader had already requested on Tuesday the "unconditional surrender" of Iran in a series of messages on his network, Truth Social, where he also claimed to know the whereabouts of the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, although he said he has not yet made the decision to order his assassination.
"We know right now that Tehran understands exactly what the president is saying. He said that for 60 days they had the opportunity to reach an agreement. They should have done it. President Trump's word means something. The world understands it. And in the Department of Defense our job is to be prepared with options, and that's precisely what we're doing," Hegseth simply said today.
The secretary was pressed on the issue by several senators, including Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who said she hoped Americans would be informed "as soon as action is determined" by the Pentagon in Iran.
Israel and Iran exchange air strikes for the sixth consecutive day, resulting in dozens of deaths in both countries and complicating the already tense situation in the Middle East.
