Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism from experts and officials who say his optimistic assessments of the war against Iran may be misleading President Donald Trump. The United States and Israel have been conducting strikes against Iran for more than five weeks, with U.S. Central Command claiming over 13,000 Iranian targets hit. Trump has escalated rhetoric, warning that 'a whole civilization will die tonight.'
According to The Washington Post, concerns are growing inside the Trump administration that Hegseth is not providing a realistic picture of the conflict. A Trump official told the newspaper: 'Pete is not speaking truth to the president.' The official warned that Trump is 'out there repeating misleading information' as a result of Hegseth's faulty assessments.
During a March 13 press briefing, Hegseth stated: 'Iran has no air defenses. Iran has no air force. Iran has no Navy.' He claimed Iranian missile volume was down 90 percent and drone launches down 95 percent. Trump echoed these claims in a national address, saying 'Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins.' However, Iran shot down an American F-15E fighter jet on Friday, leading to a search for a missing airman who was later found safe.
Military analyst Kelly Grieco of the Stimson Center noted that the downing illustrates the difference between air superiority and air supremacy. A CNN report last week also questioned the administration's assessments, citing intelligence that about half of Iran's missile launchers and thousands of drones remain operational.
Trump officials told The Washington Post that Hegseth's claim on March 31 that missile and drone launches hit a 24-hour low was false, with lower periods occurring earlier in the month. Some officials questioned the use of launch volume as a metric, with one stating: 'If you judge Iran’s strength or weakness based on their launch numbers, that is a dumb metric.'
The Pentagon defended Hegseth, with spokesman Sean Parnell calling the Post's reporting 'a fake story of failure' and insisting the military is 'crippling' Iran. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump 'always had the full picture of the conflict.'
