The United States will restart military action and reimpose a blockade if Iran does not fulfill its commitments under its agreement with the U.S., Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Thursday (June 18).

"The president has pointed out that we will be prepared to recommence if underneath the timeline of these talks, Iran does not do what it says it's going to do," Hegseth said in Brussels after meeting NATO defense ministers.

"If Iran doesn't comply, then we're more than able to reimpose an ironclad blockade."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JUNE 18, 2026) (U.S. NETWORK POOL - No use USA)

1. U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, WALKING TOWARDS REPORTERS ON TARMAC

2. WHITE FLASH

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING:

"And the president has pointed out, that we will be prepared to recommence if underneath the timeline of these talks, Iran does not do what it says it's going to do. Just give up nuclear weapons, give up nuclear ambitions, give away their nuclear material, close nuclear facilities. Then the War Department is here and prepared to restart if we need to."

4. WHITE FLASH

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING:

"But if Iran doesn't comply, then we're more than able to reimpose an ironclad blockade."

6. WHITE FLASH

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING:

"European countries ought to be at the front. There are a number that have stepped up. And we welcome that, and they'll do it in coordination with CENTCOM and Admiral (Brad) Cooper in order to make sure that that waterway is open and commerce is moving, as the president intended."

8. WHITE FLASH

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING:

"We're going to be the the big stick behind the negotiations that never existed under President Obama. It just didn't. It was a paper tiger hoping that they agreed."

10. WHITE FLASH

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING:

REPORTER ASKING: "On the force posture change. How quickly do you think that we'll see a tangible change of U.S., of the U.S. presence in the Middle East?"

HEGSETH: "It will be it's all conditions based. It's all based, again, on the responsiveness and, benchmarks met and things just like this talk about resources and money. It's based on performance. Everything is based on performance."

12. WHITE FLASH

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, PETE HEGSETH, SAYING:

"There's no giveaways here. There's no trust here. It's all verification. And the War Department stands behind it all. The president is set prepared to devastatingly do what we've done already."

14. WHITE FLASH

15. HEGSETH WALKING AWAY / HEGSETH BOARDING PLANE