Hegseth goes quiet on Iran as Trump pursues diplomacy

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the Trump administration’s frontman for waging war on Iran during weeks of kinetic operations aimed at decimating its nuclear threat. 

Since President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran to end the war, without securing significant concessions on its missile or nuclear stockpiles, Hegseth has said little about the shift in strategy — as Vice President Vance takes the spotlight in defending the tenuous diplomacy. 

The public positioning of the top Trump advisers reflects reporting on their private counsel to the commander-in-chief, with Trump saying in March that Hegseth was “the first one to speak” up in support of military operations against Iran. Vance, Trump has said, was notably less enthusiastic about the war. 

Anthony Constantini, policy director at the Bull Moose Project, a conservative advocacy group, said Hegseth was the “bad cop” during the active operations against Iran and now Vance is playing the role of “good cop.” 

“Hegseth’s job” is to present Trump with military options against Tehran, Constantini told The Hill, adding it would be “odd” if the Pentagon chief were “constantly talking” about the agreement. 

“He is not the guy who is leading the negotiations,” he said. 

But Yvonne Chiu, a professor of strategy and policy at the U.S. Naval War College, said Hegseth should be engaged in discussing the deal and corresponding military strategy to maintain stability in the region.

“He’s really interested in either the kind of very showy kinetic actions, like bombings, daring flight missions, and special operations and that stuff, or he’s interested in these internal culture wars within DOD, but he’s not interested in the hard work of all of these other things that Secretary of defense ought to care about, like force design and how to keep the peace, which is specifically relevant to Iran situation,” Chiu, who is also a Jeane Kirkpatrick Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), said in an interview with The Hill.

She noted Hegseth is far from alone within the administration in staying silent about the deal. Talks mediated by Qatar and Pakistan are currently stuck on Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, delaying potential progress on nuclear issues. 

“I think because they realize that it’s not a great deal — doesn’t mean nothing good can come of it, but it’s not a good deal — and so I think the less........

© The Hill