US President Donald Trump appeared to shift the blame for launching military strikes against Iran to his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, during a public event in Tennessee.
Speaking at a roundtable of the Memphis Safe Task Force on Monday, Trump suggested Hegseth was the first senior official to advocate military action against Iran.
The remark has drawn attention in Washington, where officials and analysts have been debating who within the administration pushed for the US military campaign against Iran.
Trump's comments add to a series of shifting explanations from within his administration about how the decision to strike Iran was made.
The war, which began with US strikes in late February, has now expanded into a broader regional conflict involving Iran and its allies.
More than 1,500 people have reportedly been killed in Iran, over 1,000 in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US service members.
