Hegseth warns US is ‘locked and loaded’ to attack Iran again if they don’t agree to peace deal

NewsWorldMiddle EastHegseth warns US is ‘locked and loaded’ to attack Iran again if they don’t agree to peace dealDefence Secretary said US forces are ‘reloading with more power than ever before’ but that Trump would ‘rather not do it’Alex Croft Thursday 16 April 2026 17:04 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2959154","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/hegseth-iran-war-us-trump-attack-ceasefire-b2959154.html","title":"Hegseth warns US is ‘locked and loaded’ to attack Iran again in absence of peace deal"}}ClosePete Hegseth begins briefing with war crime threat to IranOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Middle East","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}Pentagon chief Pete Heg...