Pentagon Chief Hegseth Faces Congress on Iran Amid Peace Talks

Washington DC: Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth heads to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for his first congressional testimony on the Middle East war, arriving at a moment when diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have effectively stalled and global oil markets are rattled by deepening uncertainty.

The immediate flashpoint is the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has kept the vital waterway — through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas flows — shut since the US-Israeli offensive began two months ago. Tehran's latest proposal, conveyed through Pakistan, would see it gradually ease the blockade in exchange for Washington lifting its naval embargo on Iranian ports, with nuclear talks deferred. But US officials did not dispute reports by CNN and The Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump remains sceptical of the offer.

At a White House state dinner Tuesday, Trump told Britain's King Charles III that Iran had been "militarily defeated" and vowed Tehran would never acquire a nuclear weapon. Iran fired back swiftly. An Iranian army spokesman told state TV that "we do not consider the war to be over," warning that Tehran had "many cards" yet to play and new battlefield methods that would allow it to "respond to the enemy more decisively" if fighting resumed.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the Iranian proposal as "better than what we thought they were going to submit," but questioned whether officials behind it had the authority to deliver, noting that Israeli strikes had eliminated several senior Iranian figures. Iranian defence ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik dismissed Washington's position, saying the United States "is no longer in a position to dictate its policy to independent nations."

Trump faces mounting domestic pressure as prices rise and polls show the war is broadly unpopular, with midterm elections approaching in November. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sharpened the international criticism Monday, saying the Americans "obviously have no strategy" in Iran and that the conflict was "at the very least ill-considered." Trump responded on social media, saying Merz "doesn't know what he's talking about.