US President Donald Trump has indicated that his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was the first senior official to back military action against Iran, recalling an internal discussion in which the latter urged immediate strikes citing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.Speaking at a roundtable event in Tennessee, Trump said, “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up and you said, ‘Let’s do it’, because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.” Hegseth was seated beside Trump during the interaction, which took place amid the ongoing US-led military campaign against Iran that began on February 28.The remarks offer a rare glimpse into the internal deliberations within the Trump administration ahead of the strikes, and appear to place Hegseth at the centre of the decision-making process.Trump also said he had consulted multiple officials, including military commanders, before authorising action, describing the situation as a “problem” driven by concerns over Iran nearing nuclear capability.