US military ready to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear bomb: Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON: The US defence secretary reiterated on Sunday that the United States hopes for a diplomatic solution to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, but if that failed the military was ready “to go deep and to go big.”

US and Iranian diplomats opened indirect talks on Saturday in Oman in an effort to resolve Western concerns about Iran´s nuclear programme.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday described the first, tentative contacts in Oman as “productive” and “a good step.”

He told CBS´s “Face the Nation” that while President Donald Trump hoped to never have to resort to a military option, “We´ve shown a capability to go far, to go deep and to go big.” “Again, we don´t want to do that, but if we have to, we will to prevent the nuclear bomb in Iran´s hands.”

That followed a blunt warning in late March that “if they don´t make a deal, there will be bombing.” Trump pulled the United States out of an earlier multi-nation nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018, during his first term in the White House. Analysts say Iran may now be just weeks away from producing a deliverable nuclear weapon -- though Tehran denies it is building such arms.

Meanwhile, Iran´s foreign ministry said on Sunday that talks with the United States slated for next weekend will remain “indirect” with Omani mediation, and focused solely on the nuclear issue and lifting of sanctions. “Negotiations will continue to be indirect. Oman will remain the mediator, but we are discussing the location of future negotiations,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in an interview with state TV.

He said the talks would only focus on “the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions,” and that Iran “will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue.”

Analysts had said the US would push to include on the agenda discussions over Iran´s ballistic missile programme along with Tehran´s support for the “axis of resistance” -- a network of militant groups opposed to Israel. Tehran has, however, maintained it will talk only about its nuclear programme.