US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that Iran accepted a ceasefire under intense pressure, avoiding further escalation. He said that if Tehran had rejected Washington’s conditions, the next targets would have been Iran’s power plants, bridges, and oil and energy infrastructure. According to Hegseth, such strikes would have delayed Iran’s reconstruction by decades, but the country’s leadership realized that an agreement was the better option.

Hegseth added that President Donald Trump had the capability to cripple Iran’s entire economy within minutes but chose to show mercy instead. The ceasefire announcement came less than two hours before the deadline Trump had set for Iran, which he revealed on social media. The report cited BBC as its source.

The statements highlight the US administration’s portrayal of the ceasefire as a result of strategic pressure rather than concession, emphasizing Trump’s decision to restrain from harsher measures.