President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the only people "disappointed" by a potential ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran are Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan "Raizin" Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The U.S. earlier Tuesday reportedly sent Iran a 15-point peace plan through regional mediators.
The proposal is part of efforts to end the conflict, which began Feb. 28.
Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social that the U.S. had engaged in very good and productive conversations and that messages had been conveyed to Iranian officials.
He also said he postponed planned strikes on Iranian power plants after those discussions.
Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office, following the swearing-in of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, that Hegseth and Caine were "quite disappointed" the conflict against Iran might soon end.
His remarks aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
"You know, the only two people that were quite disappointed, I don't want to say this, but I have to," Trump said.
"I said, Pete and Gen. 'Raizin' Caine, I think this thing's going to be settled very soon."
"They go, 'Oh, that's too bad.' Pete didn't want it to be settled.
"These guys are doing a great job," Trump continued.
"They were not interested in a settlement. They were interested in just winning this thing," Trump said.
Hegseth said the U.S. military sees "ourselves as part of this negotiation as well."
"We negotiate with bombs," he said.
"You have a choice. As we loiter over the top of Tehran, as the president talked about, about your future, the president has made it clear that you will not have a nuclear weapon," Hegseth said.
"The War Department agrees. Our job is to ensure that. And so, we're keeping our hand on that throttle as long as it's hard as is necessary to ensure the interests of the United States of America are achieved on that battlefield," he said.
Trump was asked "on a human level," not as president, how confident he is that a peace deal can be reached with Iran.
"Well, I think we're going to end it," Trump said.
"I can't tell you for sure. You know, I don't like to say this. This war has been won," Trump said.
"The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news. I mean, The New York Times.
"You read The New York Times, it's like we're not winning a war where they have no navy and they have no air force, and they have no nothing.
"And we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it," Trump said.
"For instance, if I want to take down that power plant, that very big, powerful power plant, they can't do a thing about it.
"It's like, take me, that's all they can do.
"And yet, if you read The New York Times or if you watch ABC fake news or NBC fake news, you'd say it's a close battle.
"It's not a close battle," he said.
"They're totally defeated. You know, we kill their navy, and would you say three days, Pete? Gone.
"I was a little upset with Pete," Trump continued.
"I said, why didn't you save the ships? We could have used them, right? He said, it's more fun shooting them down.
"But the navy was wiped out in a very rapid order. Pretty impressive for you guys," Trump said.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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