Pete Hegseth Accused of Giving Trump ‘Misleading’ Picture of Iran War — ‘Not Speaking Truth to the President’

Is US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth misleading President Donald Trump on the US-Iran war? Officials appear to believe so.

Lately, Hegseth has been critical of the mainstream media’s reporting of the US war against Iran, claiming that no one would believe America’s “success” in the war if they listened to their coverage.

According to a new report by The Washington Post, anonymous officials called out Hegseth and claimed that his false optimism regarding the war is negatively influencing Trump. Observers also expressed worry that Hegseth’s portrayal of the war conflicts with ground reality and that his statements will misinform the President and the public alike.

For instance, Mediaite reports that during his appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes”, the Defense Secretary alleged that the US citizens are not in danger and that only Iranians should be worried in the ongoing war. “No one’s putting us in danger,” Hegseth said, adding, “We’re putting the other guys in danger. That’s our job. So, we’re not concerned about that. We mitigate it as we need to. Our commanders factor all of this, but the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re gonna live.”

One official told The Washington Post, “Pete is not speaking truth to the President. As a result, the President is out there repeating misleading information.”

Officials believe that while Hegseth and Trump boast about America’s success in the Iran war, the truth is actually far from it. Hegseth has long dismissed the potential of Iranian forces, claiming that the Islamic Republic has “no air defenses” and that it could do “nothing” to stop the US air attacks.

However, on Monday, Trump acknowledged that a shoulder-fired “heat-seeking missile” downed a F-15E fighter jet on Friday, which left two US airmen temporarily stranded in remote Iranian territory. According to Al Jazeera, while the US forces quickly rescued the pilot, a search had to be launched for the F-15’s weapons systems officer.

The rescue mission was successful, albeit chaotic. “He got lucky. It was a lucky hit,” Trump said.

Iran also shot down an A-10 attack plane on Friday. However, the pilot managed to eject safely after flying it back to friendly airspace.

Officials and US analysts believe that Iran’s downing of the two US aircrafts revealed the gaps in Hegseth’s claims about “complete control of Iranian skies” and “uncontested airspace.” According to the officials, the two US aircrafts that Iran struck down recently point to the reality that the Islamic Republic is far more powerful than the President and the defense secretary would like people to believe.

Kelly Grieco, who is a military analyst at the Stimson Center, believes that the President’s insistence is proof that the US has “air superiority” but not “air supremacy.” The Washington Post also reported that Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has not suggested that US pilots can use Iranian airspace without concern of enemy threats.

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has responded to scrutiny over Hegseth’s narrative, accusing the news outlet of spreading “lies and propaganda.”

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly also rejected the claim that Hegseth was misleading President Trump and said that the POTUS was aware that the Iranians would retaliate. “He has always had the full picture of the conflict. Nothing has surprised him or our military planners, who were prepared for any possible contingency,” she said.