Trump achieved 'decisive military victory' in Iran, Hegseth says

[0:00] Secretary Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Cain take questions on the ceasefire deal with Iran. [0:05] Hegseth says Iran begged for the ceasefire. He says the U.S. was locked and loaded on Iran's power plants, bridges, oil and energy. [0:13] He says Iran understood they were out of options in time, adding President Trump chose mercy. [0:19] The secretary calls this a historic battlefield victory. He says Iran knows this agreement means they will never possess a nuclear weapon. [0:25] And any material that Iran should not have will be removed. Hegseth says the Department of Defense did its job and now there is a chance for real peace. [0:33] He also called out American allies who stayed on the sidelines saying they should take some notes from Israel. General Cain says he believes the straightforward moves is now open. [0:42] We know President Trump is entertaining the idea at least of a joint venture with Iran to control the strait. Not clear what that would look like. [0:48] So let's bring in ABC News contributor and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. Mick Mulroy is here now. [0:55] So Mick, what stood out to you there? Obviously that we're claiming both sides are claiming that the positions that they have are essentially going to be met. [1:05] And that's unclear. We have right now we have a two week ceasefire and the opening of the strait over moves, which is a good thing. [1:12] I think we should all acknowledge that. And now is the opportunity for diplomacy to lead this and hopefully get to a resolution that doesn't require a major military escalation, which is where this was headed and can still head. [1:26] I mean, not only is I think President Trump's threat still out there, but there's other forces flowing to the region right now. [1:32] So the second Marine Expeditionary Unit will get there. And obviously it's they could blow more special operations forces and basically be prepared to bring this up a notch, if you will. [1:45] And there's also another aircraft carrier. So this is a significant opportunity right now for both sides to reach an agreement, hopefully a permanent agreement that obviously they can live with. [1:56] And this doesn't actually escalate because it escalates. It's not just the United States against Iran. It's Iran against all of our partners in the region. [2:05] And both sides, you mentioned, are claiming victory here. But what constitutes a victory? [2:11] Well, I think from the U.S. perspective, we've seen a lot of our military objectives met, both the degradation of the nuclear program, a ballistic missile and suicide drug program, [2:21] and a large decimation, if you will, of their military, particularly their Air Force and Navy. [2:26] But going forward, I think we have to see the Strait of Hormuz open. There shouldn't be any country that controls it necessarily because it is an international waterway. [2:36] We also want to ensure that they never acquire a nuclear weapon, and that requires verification. [2:43] And then lastly, there's going to be limits on the ballistic missiles and their support to proxy organizations in the region, which has caused most of this destabilization. [2:51] Yeah, let's talk about the Strait of Hormuz here. [2:53] So Hegseth says it's time for the rest of the world to step up with keeping the Strait open, as we heard from General Cain there, saying he believes the Strait is now open. [3:02] But we know President Trump is entertaining this idea, at least of a joint venture with Iran. [3:06] So how do you square those two ideas happening at the same time where Hegseth is saying, rest of the world, step up, but President Trump is saying, hey, maybe a joint venture here? [3:13] So now that we do have a ceasefire, I think the Secretary has a point. This is an international waterway. 21% of the world's energy supply flows through it. [3:25] It is in the interest of the world to see that it is open. [3:29] And if we're in diplomatic negotiations, not an active combat situation, then to me, they should at least assist in ensuring it's safe passage, both for the potential that there's still some sea mines that were laid, and also just to ensure that Iran does decide to start shooting at commercial vessels. [3:47] Because ultimately, it is the commercial vessels and their insurers that have to be competent in the security of the Strait for them to transit through it. [3:54] So I do think there's a space in the international community to now come in and ensure that they are assisting in keeping this international waterway open. [4:03] As far as the joint venture, unclear how that would be, because that essentially would acknowledge that this is some kind of terrain that's to be owned. [4:11] It's not owned. It is an international waterway. [4:13] Yes, a large part of the Strait is in Iran. A large part of the Strait is in Oman. [4:19] But the transit area is international, and it should stay that way, or the international community should demand it does. [4:27] Let's talk about timing here. So we know Hegseth is saying that the U.S. is not going anywhere. [4:32] He kind of said the same thing that President Trump was saying in terms of we'll be hanging around. [4:35] That's been the term that's been passed around in the last 24 hours. [4:39] Hegseth says that we want to stick around and make sure that this deal goes through, [4:42] but we are prepared to restart if needed. So timeline wise, how long could troops be in this area in the same kind of theater of conflict we're seeing? [4:52] So, of course, we have troops that are essentially permanently placed in the Middle East. [4:57] And one of the 10 points of Iran is that we withdraw. [5:01] I don't believe that's going to happen. But we obviously surge a lot of force for this to occur. [5:06] I don't think the U.S. is going to trust the word of Iran. Iran doesn't trust the word of the United States. [5:12] It would make no sense for us to then bring all these troops home beyond just the troops that are normally stationed there. [5:20] I think we have to keep the troops out there to ensure that this diplomatic process moves forward. [5:25] They feel the pressure. If not, then we might have to redeploy back there if these negotiations fall apart. [5:32] And we've seen many negotiations that run fall apart. So I think we have to keep that force out there as a deterrence [5:38] and as a motivator, if you will, for Iran to enter an agreement that we believe is acceptable. [5:44] But from President Trump's social media post last night, it does seem like there is room for compromise here, [5:51] which I think we should all take as a good sign because negotiations at the end of the day require compromise on both sides. [5:58] Nick Mulroy, thank you for your time.