Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has accused Iran of being “detached from reality” after it circulated an AI-generated video depicting Jesus punching Donald Trump into hell—although that image was simply based on Trump’s own post.
Days after Trump himself posted a controversial image portraying himself as a Christ-like figure, Hegseth blasted the Iranian regime for pushing out their own imagery mocking the president’s post.
Hegseth has turned his position as Secretary of Defense into a bully pulpit for his evangelical Christian beliefs.
The video was shared by an Iranian diplomatic account and quickly spread across social media platforms. It shows a stylized version of Jesus striking Trump, who then falls into flames—imagery widely interpreted as both political satire and religious provocation.
Asked about this on Wednesday, Hegseth told reporters: “That’s disgusting and detached from reality.
“Iran says a lot of things in the propaganda space based on complete lies, and their actions have been lies,” he added.
“They are going to misrepresent, lie, and spin in a multitude of ways which we are quite used to. Ultimately, they need to come to the table and make a deal.”
The comments were made during Hegseth’s latest update on the war, with both sides now in a tenuous ceasefire as a standoff continues in the Strait of Hormuz.
The crucial waterway has been at a standstill ever since Trump began his war on February 28, prompting a global oil crisis and more pain at the pump for consumers.
But with less than a week before a temporary ceasefire is set to expire, Hegseth said the U.S. was “locked and loaded” to once again attack if Iran did not agree to a peace deal.
He also urged Iran’s leaders to “choose wisely” while vowing that an American naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue for “as long as it takes.”
The tensions between Washington and Tehran have also spilled into an increasingly aggressive information war.
One series of memes, for instance, mocks Trump’s repeated deadlines to Iran and his warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” with AI-generated clips showing miniature versions of him surrendering and panicking. Others use Legos to mock the president.
“Wars are fought in two spaces. They’re fought on the battleground, and then, just as important a battleground is the communications war. Iran has been able to completely monopolize the communications war—especially on social media globally,” said Narges Bajoghli, associate professor of anthropology and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University.
“You have a generation of very young, millennial and Gen Z content creators in Iran who have been given the space and the green light to message this war to the global community.”
Hegseth also used his press conference to once again complain about press coverage of the war, accusing the media of putting out what he called an “endless stream of garbage.”
But this time, the Christian National and former Fox & Friends host also invoked Biblical references to compare the media to the Pharisees, the group that was hostile to Jesus.
Noting a chapter in the Book of Mark, in which the Pharisees came to see Jesus, Hegseth told reporters: “You see the Pharisees, the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time, they were there to witness, to write everything down to report, but their hearts were hardened. Even though they witnessed a literal miracle, it didn’t matter. They were only there to explain away goodness in pursuit of their agenda.”
