HEGSETH: "The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a warning to Tehran on Tuesday, saying the conflict would intensify in the next few days if it did not make a deal.

HEGSETH: “American firepower is only increasing. Iran's? Decreasing. We have more and more options, and they have less."

But Iran’s Revolutionary Guards hit back with a new threat, saying it will target U.S. companies in the region in retaliation for attacks on Iran. Among the targets it listed were some of America's biggest companies, including Microsoft, Google, Apple and Tesla.

The warnings from each side came after an Iranian drone attacked a fully loaded oil tanker off Dubai, setting the vessel on fire.

Authorities said the fire had been brought under control, with no oil leak and no injuries to the crew.

It was the latest attack on merchant vessels in the Gulf or in the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S.-Israel conflict began.

It also came a day after President Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iran’s energy plants if it did not agree to a peace deal to open the strait.

Crude oil prices briefly spiked again after the attack on the tanker. And Trump lashed out at NATO allies that haven't helped in the war, including France and Britain, saying in a Truth Social post (quote) “go get your own oil."

When Hegseth was asked by Reuters if the U.S. was still committed to NATO's collective defense, he declined to reaffirm that commitment.

HEGSETH: "As far as NATO's concerned, that's a decision that will be left to the president. But I'll just say a lot has been laid bare, a lot has been shown to the world about what our allies would be willing to do for the United States of America when we undertake an effort of this scope on behalf of the free world. These are missiles that don't even range the United States of America. They range allies and others, and yet, when we ask for additional assistance or simple access, basing overflight, we get questions or roadblocks or hesitations."

His remarks were an apparent reference to tensions with France, Italy, Spain and Britain.

On Tuesday, sources said France and Italy have pushed back against some U.S.-Israeli military operations.

Meanwhile, Spain defended its decision to fully close its airspace to U.S. planes involved in attacks on Iran.

Experts have long warned that remarks suggesting that the United States might not honor its NATO commitments could encourage Russia to test NATO members' readiness to enforce the alliance's Article 5, which states that an armed attack against one NATO member is an attack on all.

Posted by: Alma Angeles/NET25 News