Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is being ripped apart for making a wild claim while trying to downplay the threat to shipping in the Middle East as the Iran war rages.
Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have come to a near standstill, sending oil prices skyrocketing as tankers fear being targeted by Iran in the crucial waterway.
But the defense secretary issued a bizarre statement at his briefing on Friday by stating the obvious as he tried to soothe fears about rising prices at the pump.
“The only thing prohibiting transit through the Straits right now is Iran shooting at shipping,” Hegseth declared. “It is open for transit, should Iran not do that.”
But that is exactly what the threat has been. Disruptions began after the U.S. attacked Iran, and it began to retaliate in the region. The ongoing disruptions have caused oil prices to skyrocket globally.
Hegseth made his head-scratching argument in response to a question about when the Strait of Hormuz might be fully operational again.
It was immediately seized on by social media users, who shredded him online.
“Guys, relax, the only risk in transiting the Strait of Hormuz is that Iran will shoot a missile at your ship. Otherwise it’s open for transit,” wrote Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen on X. “An all-time quote from our Secretary of War.”
Another X user reacted to his quote with, “What a goddamn verified genius we have running the Pentagon, folks.”
“So the only thing stopping ships…is getting shot at. Brilliant analysis, Sherlock," the progressive X account Call to Activism posted.
The Pentagon chief went on to argue in his response that one of the main objectives was to destroy Iran’s navy.
Despite the escalating global energy crisis, because shipping through the waterway has been almost entirely shut down, Hegseth insisted the U.S. had been planning for all scenarios.
“We have a plan for every option here,” he argued. “That’s not a Strait we’re going to allow to remain contested or with a lack of flow to commercial goods, so we’re aware of that.”
In his opening remarks, Hesgeth even declared: “They are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz, something we’re dealing with, we have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it.”
But Americans are worried, as the price of gasoline in the U.S. has soared due to the war, and oil prices have skyrocketed.
But Hegseth’s effort to downplay the threat in the Strait of Hormuz and insistence that the Trump administration did not underestimate Iran’s willingness to shut down the Strait or cause disruptions did not work.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright revealed this week that the U.S. would not be prepared to escort ships through the Strait until the end of the month, despite the administration pressuring shipping to continue.
“You have said that the U.S. military has, essentially, air superiority, naval superiority over Iran, yet we’re not escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Why? How did you not plan for this?” a reporter asked.
“We plan for it. We recognize it. Because ultimately we want to do it sequentially in a way that makes the most sense for what we want to achieve and ensure that we’re sending the right signals to the world when we do so,” Hegseth babbled incoherently.
