US can still strike Hormuz targets, Hegseth warns as 'Economic D-Day' takes aim at Iran's economy

ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTER, REUTERSAUGUST 24, 2026 23:20Updated: AUGUST 24, 2026 23:49US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that US President Donald Trump's administration was not ruling out using military force against Iran, even as Washington unveiled an "economic D-Day" against Tehran."By no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran," Hegseth told reporters, adding that Iran could not handle the economic pressure being put on it.Iran won't have nuclear weapon, State Dept. spox. maintainsTrump is still set on preventing Iran from attaining a nuclear bomb, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a Newsmax interview on Monday afternoon."The president has been clear that he is going to see the Iranian nuclear weapons threat come to an end," he said, adding that "He will see that objective be completed one way or another.""Past presidents have simply identified the threat.""President Trump is taking action to prevent that threat from becoming a reality, the untenable threat of the Iranian regime having a nuclear weapon."This is a developing story.Follow us on Google