‘Now they pay’: World braces as Pete Hegseth issues ominous threat against Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued an ominous threat Saturday just moments after the United States launched a new round of strikes against Iran.

On Saturday evening, U.S. Central Command announced that a new round of strikes against Iran “began launching” at around 7:30 ET, marking the third round of U.S. strikes on Iran this week. In a statement published on social media, U.S. Central Command claimed the strikes were in response to Iran striking a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” reads the statement from U.S. Central Command. “The strikes are being carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief.”

Less than 10 minutes after U.S. Central Command’s statement, Hegseth delivered his ominous threat.

“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” Hegseth wrote in a social media post on X to his nearly 2 million followers.

According to The New York Times, Iranian state media has reported explosions heard in “key cities across Iran’s southern coast,” as well as “major energy centers and Iranian military sites.”

Moments before U.S. Central Command announced the new wave of strikes, Iranian officials announced that the Strait of Hormuz was “closed until further notice,” rebuking the Trump administration and its demand for Iran to confirm the strait was opened to commercial vessels.

The new wave of strikes comes one day after President Donald Trump threatened to “completely decimate” Iran using 1,000 missiles that were “locked and loaded.”