Defense Secretary Hegseth Defends Iran Strikes, Blasts Media Coverage at Pentagon Briefing
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a rare Pentagon press briefing on Thursday to defend recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran and push back against what he called “biased” media coverage of the operation’s success.
The strikes, carried out Saturday, targeted three major Iranian nuclear facilities. However, early intelligence assessments—reported by outlets like CNN, The New York Times, and MSNBC—suggested the bombings only set back Iran’s nuclear program by a few months, falling short of fully dismantling it.
Hegseth sharply criticized this reporting, calling it premature and misleading.
“Whether it’s fake news CNN, MSNBC, or The New York Times, there’s been fawning coverage of a preliminary assessment,” Hegseth said. “It was preliminary—a day and a half after the strike—and even admits more data is needed over several weeks.”
He emphasized that there is “low confidence” in the early Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report, which conflicts with President Trump’s claim that the nuclear program had been “obliterated” and set back by years.
The DIA’s assessment stated that while U.S. forces used powerful GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs to hit the Fordow and Natanz enrichment complexes, as well as Iran’s Isfahan site, the underground facilities remained largely intact. According to intelligence sources, much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium was likely relocated before the strikes, minimizing long-term damage.
Hegseth disputed those findings and claimed the report was politically motivated.
“Someone had an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn’t successful,” he said, framing the criticism as an attack on U.S. troops and the Trump administration.
He pointed to recent statements by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, both of whom affirmed the strikes severely damaged Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Gabbard cited “new intelligence” aligning with President Trump’s stance that key facilities were destroyed.
Hegseth also dismissed reports suggesting Iran had moved its uranium stockpile before the attacks.
“I’m not aware of any intelligence that I’ve reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be—moved or otherwise,” he said.
President Trump echoed Hegseth’s statements on Truth Social shortly after the briefing, claiming, “Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move.”
General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also addressed reporters. He noted that while initial assessments show severe damage to the targeted sites, a full evaluation would take time. Caine emphasized that the intelligence community—not the military—would provide the final assessment.
“We don’t grade our own homework,” he said. “That’s up to the intel agencies.”
