Hegseth signals US military readiness for Iran as peace talks stall

Pete Hegseth stood before the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday morning with a message calibrated for two audiences at once. The US defense secretary had just watched peace negotiations collapse in Washington hours earlier—talks aimed at ending the war with Iran had produced nothing. Now, speaking to defense officials and military experts from roughly 45 nations gathered in the city-state, he wanted to be clear about what came next if diplomacy failed entirely. The United States, he said, possessed more than enough firepower to resume fighting. "Our ability to recommence if necessary is we are more than capable," Hegseth told the room. "Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe because of how we balance exquisite and more plentiful munitions."

The timing was deliberate. Donald Trump had claimed the day before that he could broker an Iran deal containing major concessions from Tehran—opening the Strait of Hormuz, dismantling the country's nuclear program. But Iranian officials had already signaled that no final agreement existed. Hegseth's words, then, functioned as both a warning and a hedge: if the Iranians would not bend, America had the means to make them.

Yet the defense secretary's remarks about Iran occupied only part of his attention. Two weeks after Trump's visit to Beijing, where he had discussed what he called "fantastic" trade deals without elaborating, Hegseth turned his focus to China. He acknowledged what he called "rightful alarm" about Beijing's military expansion and its growing activities across the region and beyond. But he framed this concern carefully, insisting that Washington did not seek "needless confrontation." Instead, the US wanted what he termed a "genuinely stable equilibrium in Asia that works for Americans as well as our allies"—a balance of power in which no single nation, China included, could impose its will on others or threaten their security and prosperity.

Hegseth's tone marked a shift from his remarks at the same summit the previous year, when he had spoken in more starkly confrontational terms about Beijing. This time, he extended an olive branch. He called for "respectful" and "good-faith" engagement with China, even noting his regret that his Chinese counterpart was not present. "I wish my counterpart was here at this conference," he said, "but I look forward to other options when we can cross paths."

That absence was itself significant. For the second consecutive year, China had sent military experts and scholars rather than its defense minister, Dong Jun. Some analysts interpreted this as a sign of Beijing's confidence—an established power with little need to publicly defend its assertive regional moves. But others saw risk in the decision. With two major security crises potentially looming—the question of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Beijing's claims over Taiwan—China's senior defense leadership was simply not in the room.

Hegseth addressed Taiwan directly, though with measured language. There had been "no change" in Washington's position toward the self-ruled island, he said. But any future arms sales to Taiwan, he added, would ultimately rest with the US president. Trump, in Beijing, had already suggested that such sales could become a bargaining chip in negotiations with China. The implication was clear: Taiwan's security, long treated as a matter of principle, was now potentially negotiable.

The defense secretary led a substantial American delegation to Singapore, signaling Washington's commitment to the region through sheer presence. China's decision to send a smaller, lower-ranking contingent created an asymmetry that observers would spend the coming days parsing. One thing was certain: the two powers were not speaking the same language, even when they were in the same room.