After his shocking demand over ‘unflattering’ photos, Pete rips into journalists for not being ‘positive enough’ about US attacks
Pete and his priorities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth barred print photographers and certain journalists from a Pentagon press briefing on Friday, reportedly due to past “unflattering” photos of him. This bizarre move came as Hegseth launched into a sharp critique of news coverage regarding US military operations in Iran. He accused reporters of downplaying Washington’s supposed gains on the battlefield and not being positive enough about the US attacks.
According to The Guardian, Hegseth, speaking alongside the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, claimed the US-Israeli war on Iran has been an unprecedented success. He told reporters that the United States is “decimating the radical Iranian regime’s military in a way the world has never seen before.”
The defense secretary asserted that after 13 days of strikes, Iran had been left without a functioning air force, navy, or missile defense network. He also stated that the combined US-Israeli air campaign had hit more than 15,000 targets since the war began.
Pete said Iranian leaders were cowering underground, but videos prove otherwise
Hegseth went on to claim that Iranian ballistic missile production capacity had been “functionally defeated.” He also said Iranian leaders were “cowering underground, because that’s what rats do.”
However, some of Iran’s most senior leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, security chief Ali Larijani, and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, were seen on video marching through Tehran for the annual Quds Day rally on the same day. Additionally, Hegseth claimed Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was elected on March 8 following his father’s assassination, was “wounded and likely disfigured.” This particular claim has not been verified.
Despite these assertions of near-total battlefield dominance, Iranian state media confirmed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has continued to launch a barrage of missiles and drones on US military installations in Gulf countries and on Israel. Analysts, like the independent Institute for the Study of War, have confirmed mass damage to Iranian military infrastructure through satellite imagery, including strikes on missile complexes and air and navy bases.
The Pentagon also acknowledged that the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for Gulf oil, remains partly closed to commercial shipping. It has yet to begin naval escort operations in the area. Addressing the issue, Hegseth disparaged reports that the US was unprepared for Iran’s effective closure of the shipping route. He stated, “The only thing prohibiting transit in [Hormuz] right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit should Iran not do that.”
Hegseth confirmed that a US military investigation is underway into an airstrike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed at least 175 people. He noted that the investigating officer is a general drawn from outside US Central Command, but he did not directly address the substance of the allegations. Preliminary findings from the investigation have reportedly found that the US did indeed bomb the school.
General Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, revealed at the press conference that the US fired “the first precision strike missiles ever used in combat, reaching deep into enemy territory.” These new anti-ship weapons are designed to be more precise and operate at a longer range than previous missile versions.
Throughout the briefing, Hegseth repeatedly criticized news coverage of the war. At one point, he even proposed alternative headlines for TV coverage, asking, “What should the banner [on TV] read? How about ‘Iran increasingly desperate’?” Hegseth then took aim at a particular news organization, stating, “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
Ellison, an ally of Trump, is considered a frontrunner to acquire the network’s parent company, and has reportedly told Trump’s administration officials he would make sweeping changes if the deal closes. As has been his habit at these briefings, Hegseth concluded his opening remarks with an appeal to divine providence.
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