Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has lashed out at a reporter for asking him to explain the Trump administration’s ever-changing story on Iran.
After both sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire, the former Fox & Friends co-host held a press conference on Wednesday to declare the U.S. had achieved an “epic victory” and had met all of its strategic objectives.
“If Iran refused our terms, the next targets would have been their power plants, their bridges and oil and energy infrastructure—targets they could not defend and could not realistically rebuild,” Hegseth boasted.
“President Trump had the power to cripple Iran’s entire economy in minutes, but he chose mercy,” he added.
The temporary ceasefire came shortly before Trump’s self-imposed 8 pm Tuesday deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or “a whole civilization” would be obliterated.
Critics viewed it as another ‘TACO’, a reference to the president’s nickname - Trump Always Chickens Out - and an attempt to find an off-ramp to a deeply unpopular conflict.
But as Hegseth sought to put his spin on the war, ABC reporter Luis Martinez asked him on Wednesday: “Earlier you said that the president showed mercy, but you yourself had said three weeks ago that we will give ‘No Quarter’ to Iranian troops”—a reference to a controversial term, considered to be a war crime, that essentially means that enemies should be killed instead of receiving any mercy.
“How do you correlate those two, and do you think that your comments may have put Americans at risk?” Martinez asked.
Hegseth was not happy, accusing him of being “typical ABC.”
“I try to be nice up here, but you did listen to what I said?” the defense secretary hit back.
“I laid out the objectives we believe we’ve accomplished, and it’s a historic military victory. And President Trump has the option as the commander in chief to compel an adversary to the table, which is precisely what he did.
“And at the end, he chose to say: ‘You know what, I’d rather talk to you at the table than obliterate your capability to export oil and fund your terror regime’. That was his choice. He’s president of peace.”
Hegseth also insisted that nothing he did put any soldier in harm’s way.
But 13 service officers died in the conflict, and two had to be rescued by U.S. forces inside Iran after their fighter jet was shot down last week.
Trump himself had earlier admitted that the “back-seater” on the jet was placed at risk once Iran knew he was still on enemy soil, resulting in a bounty being placed on his head as the U.S. military raced against the clock to find him.
Hegseth’s annoyance on Wednesday morning was not the first time he has lashed out at the media during his briefings.
Earlier in the press conference, another reporter, who he did not call on, yelled out from the back of the room that Iran was still firing ballistic missiles across the Middle East.
“Excuse me. Why are you so rude?” he said. “Just wait. So nasty.”
The performative Pentagon boss also went on the attack during a televised cabinet meeting late last month, as officials took turns showering Trump with compliments, a regular feature of such meetings.
“Mr. President, you are acting now to ensure future generations do not have to live under the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,” Hegseth told him. “However, you wouldn’t know it if you listen to the dishonest hate-Trump media as you referenced.”
He has tried to limit criticism during Pentagon briefings by stacking the press corps with MAGA-friendly journalists. Last month, some photographers were reportedly also banned from a briefing after his office took offense at unflattering photos of him.
