US House of Representatives to Defense Secretary Hegseth: Is There a Nuclear Threat So That the Iran War Is Necessary?

JAKARTA - A member of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee from the Democratic Party, Adam Smith, questioned the urgency of the US war against Iran to Defense Secretary (Menhan) Pete Hegseth.

Citing BBC International, Smith initially asked about the steps the US Government led by President Donald Trump took to end the nuclear threat from Iran.

Hegseth responded by blaming the previous administration. He claimed that the US-Iran nuclear negotiations under President Joe Biden were not good.

Hegseth then said the Trump administration would prioritize the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US-Iran nuclear deal signed in 2016 during the era of President Barack Obama. Trump after becoming president of the first term was known to break the US-Iran JCPOA deal

Not satisfied with Hegseth's answer, which quoted Obama's strategy, Smith said: "That's the past, what about the future?"

He then questioned "is there a nuclear threat that will happen soon so that there needs to be a war with Iran?"

Hegseth responded by claiming that Iran "has not given up its nuclear ambitions". For this reason, he said, the US along with Israel took action to carry out a massive attack on Iran on February 28 in the midst of Iran-US nuclear negotiations.

This Smith-Hegseth question and answer session took place on Wednesday, April 29, during a meeting with the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee with the US Secretary of Defense regarding the Pentagon's additional budget of 1.5 trillion US dollars amid the turmoil of the Iran war.