Reporter for Right-Wing Outlet Presses Hegseth on Trump’s Iran Threat: ‘Was the President Prepared to Wipe Out Iran Entirely?’

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth insisted that President Donald Trump was not bluffing when he threatened to “entirely” wipe out Iran before granting a two-week extension to the country.

At a Wednesday morning press conference, Daily Caller reporter Reagan Reese noted that Trump’s threat to Iran received a huge response” in the country. Some critics accused the president of openly planning war crimes with his Truth Social warning that Iranian “civilization” would be wiped out by an 8 p.m. deadline. He later gave a two-week extension.

Hegseth said the U.S. military was “locked and loaded” on targets, threatening to take away Iran’s ability to export energy.

Check out the exchange below:

REAGAN REESE: Yesterday in the president’s Truth Social he threatened to wipe out a civilization. That statement elicited huge response in America. If Iran did not come to the table and make a deal by deadline, was the president prepared to wipe out Iran entirely?

PETE HEGSETH: Like I said, we had a target set locked and loaded of infrastructure, bridges, power plants. This is a terror regime, military regime, they fund their military and terror camps. We had targets, they knew the scope what we were capable of. We hit some military targets on Kharg, which is a bit of a signal. They can’t defend it. Iran ultimately understood their ability, their future to produce, to generate power, to fuel their terrorist regime was in our hands, was in President Trump’s hands. That is why they came to the table. He said we can ultimately 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 brought them to the place they effectively say, okay, we want to cut this deal.

Watch above via Fox News.

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