Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Evan Vucci/AP)
"And that sends a message to every capital around the world that when President Trump speaks, he means business. And we are reestablishing deterrence at the War Department," Hegseth also said.
The secretary of War also told the Cabinet that Trump has had to "rebuild the perception of America" during his second term.
"And at the Department of War, that meant reestablishing deterrence. What happened in Afghanistan. What happened in Ukraine, a war that never would have occurred. What happened on Oct. 7 in Israel — never would have happened under President Trump. So as a result, we're having to rebuild how our enemies perceive us," he said. "And when President Trump said, 'We're not getting a nuclear Iran, you won't have a nuclear bomb,' he meant it. And we sent those B-2s halfway around the world, and they never noticed."
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard USS Iwo Jima after strikes on Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
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"As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hegseth-says-department-war-will-prepared-deliver-whatever-trump-wants-following-iran-warning