Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told CBS News on Sunday.
“What I would say the president has been most clear about is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon – never, full stop,” Hegseth said.
He went on to discuss the reports currently circulating about the deal, stating that some of the details that have come out publicly “are completely wrong.”
“It’s performance-based,” Hegseth stated. “No money will be released to Iran until they perform.”
.@SECWAR “What I would say the President has been MOST CLEAR ABOUT is that IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.
NEVER—FULL STOP.” pic.twitter.com/LALI8nFjoe
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) June 14, 2026
“There’s no trust here, and we are going to verify everything,” he added. “Nuclear material will be destroyed and removed, and the nuclear program will be dismantled.”
Details on the Iran nuclear deal
Earlier on Saturday, a senior Iranian official informed Reuters that, under a final draft memorandum of understanding with the United States, Tehran agrees not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.
In his original announcement of the deal, posted on Truth Social on Thursday, US President Donald Trump listed several countries in the region that had approved the agreement, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Pakistan and Qatar, both of which have been involved in mediating negotiations between the US and Iran, were also mentioned.
Until a final deal is reached, Iran has agreed to not maintain the current nuclear status quo, which includes refraining from uranium enrichment and expanding nuclear facilities.
Danya Saperstein contributed to this report.
